A green steel startup called Boston Metal is one step closer to commercializing its more sustainable technology and changing the face of this notoriously pollution-heavy industry.
The building and construction industry tops the charts in global emissions, accounting for around 37% of all planet-warming gases.
Although steel production is a small part of the industry, its emissions account for around 7% of the world's output.
To combat this, Boston Metal has spent more than a decade developing sustainable technology that replaces coal-burning reactors with electricity, according to MIT Technology Review.
The company uses a process called molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) to melt down iron ore along with other ingredients to ultimately create steel. Electricity is used to heat the mixture to 2,900 degrees Fahrenheit, driving the necessary chemical reactions.
Conventional steel-making plants use a coal-based fuel called coke to convert iron ore into iron (the key ingredient in steel), as the report explained.
However, this process releases large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which contributes to a warming planet. Other pollutants and particulate matter foul the air around factories, impacting the health of nearby communities.
Boston Metal's process only emits oxygen, and since it can run on electricity generated from renewable sources like wind or solar power, MIT explained that this approach could all but eliminate the climate impact of steel production.
"MOE is leveraging the power of electrochemistry to decarbonize steelmaking in an efficient, one-step process that has the potential to cut nearly 10% of the world's carbon emissions," per the company's website.
Boston Metal was founded in 2013, according to the report, and since then, it's gone from reactors roughly the size of a coffee cup to a scale that can produce tons of metal at a time. That's a good start, but there's work to be done to meet the needs of an industry that deals in billions of tons per year.
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Definitely 👍 "The volumes of steel everywhere around us — it's immense," Boston Metal Senior Vice President of Business Development Adam Rauwerdink told MIT.
"The scale is massive."
The company recently completed test runs of its latest and largest reactor to observe how reactions function on a larger scale, which will help them develop a cost structure for their products.
The Boston facility is its demonstration plant, as the report explained, and is expected to come online in late 2026, with operations slated to begin the following year.
Plans for an even bigger facility will be the next step as the company moves forward with its efforts to clean up the steel production industry's image.
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