Green Steel Startup’s Largest Reactor Yet Produces a Ton of Molten Metal With Electricity
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Summary
Steelmaking is one of the most challenging industries when it comes to decarbonisation because of its high temperatures and coal-based fuel requirements.
US start-up Boston Metal is looking to commercialise zero-emission steelmaking technology that it developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
This week, it completed its largest reactor yet, which paves the way for industrial-scale production of steel.
The company uses electrolysis to convert iron ore into molten iron without direct emissions, meaning that using renewable energy could make the process emissions-free.
Boston Metal’s process, known as molten oxide electrolysis, involves mixing iron ore with an electrolyte inside a large reactor, heating it to 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit, and passing a current through it.
The oxygen in the ore separates and bubbles up through the electrolyte, while molten iron collects at the bottom of the reactor.
The plant can currently produce a ton or two of metal in a month, but the goal is to build a plant capable of a ton a day by 2027.
