Boston Metal raises $262m in green steel funding round

The new investment brings its Series C total to $262 million and will allow the company to scale its clean steelmaking technology at first-of-a-kind facilities in Boston and south-eastern Brazil, the company has announced.

The news comes after an initial Series C funding announced in January, which was led by global steel giant ArcelorMittal. Boston Metal’s backers also include the venture-capital arms of mining and oil giants BHP and Saudi Aramco, as well as major climate tech funds such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and Prelude Ventures.

“The timing really seems to be right for bringing the technology to market,” Adam Rauwerdink, senior vice president of business development at Boston Metal, commented. ​“Demand is far outpacing supply at this point.”

Boston Metal is developing a process called ​‘molten oxide electrolysis,’ which uses renewable electricity to convert crude iron ore directly into high-purity molten iron. This one step process avoids CO₂ emissions from primary steel production and does not generate waste, offering a simple, scalable and truly decarbonized solution- according to the company.

“Boston Metal has made remarkable progress on the maturation of its MOE technology and business model, which has the potential to decarbonize steelmaking at scale,” Carmichael Roberts, the business lead for Breakthrough Energy’s investment committee, said in a statement following the Series C closing.

“We’re proud to continue our investment in the company, as it’s an example of the high-impact technology we seek to support solving the world’s most pressing climate problems,” Roberts added.

Source: Canary Media