Green steel company that wants to revive the manufacture of US steel
Child Care Center for Children, Gym, Tax Advisor – and Mini Experimental Steel Factory. This business is among those who form retail areas and small industries in the city of Woburn, Massachusetts.
“People deliver their children. That shows you extreme examples of what the future of steel,” said Adam Rauherdink, Vice President of Business Development in the Start-Up Green Steel based in the US, Boston Metal. “You can make steel and share parking spaces with a child care place.”
Boston Metal has appeared by using electricity to remove oxide and other contaminants from iron ore, which are substances that you have to mine from the earth before you can make new steel.
This process involves distributing ore in electrolytes and then using electricity to heat this mixture to 1,600C. Liquid iron then separates from dirt and can be tapped.
Traditionally, extracting iron which is very important from ore requires a furnace that runs on fossil fuels. But the iron and steel industry is responsible for 11% of global emissions – a large number, equivalent to all the world’s private cars and vans – and now the race is ongoing to find a greener way to produce this important metal.
US companies, arguably, at the forefront. The manufacture of steel in the US is greener than in many countries, thanks to the popularity of the electric arc there. This furnace uses electricity, not heat from burning fossil fuels, to melt used steel – for example – and recycling it.
Plus, some start-ups that appear like Boston Metal say they can be better and use electricity for the process of making iron, important steps in making new steel, or virgin.
However, Trump’s administration has taken a less enthusiastic attitude towards renewable energy projects and decarbonization projects. It still needs to be seen whether this new start-up will make a large spark, liquid in the steel industry in the near future.
Switching from a traditional explosion furnace to an electric arc furnace can reduce carbon emissions per ton of steel produced from 2.32 tons of CO2 to 0.67 tons of CO2.
For the manufacture of iron, some factories can use green hydrogen-made using electricity from 100% renewable source Simon Nicholas, lead steel analysts at the Institute for Energy Economics and financial analysis.
But replacing iron plants and making steel to green hydrogen has not been as smooth as some people expected.
In June, Cleveland-Cliffs, a large US steel producer, appeared to resign from his plan to build a $ 500 million hydrogen-powered steel factory (£ 375 million) in Ohio. BBC has contacted Cleveland-Cliffs to comment.
“We see that the project is canceled, supporters pull out of the project in all places,” said Mr. Nicholas, from the green hydrogen initiative, in particular.
Plus, there are limits on how many steel making that can rely on electric arc stoves because they are currently mostly dependent on used steel supply.
The relatively low used steel supply in China, versus demand, has slowed the launch of an electric arc there, according to some analysis.
This headache will suggest that there is a niche for companies that develop alternative ways to make iron and steel. Boston Metal is one.
“This looks like how we make iron and steel today – it is much easier to understand how it will reach a scale [as a result]”Said Paul Kempler, an expert in electrochemistry and electrochemical engineering at the University of Oregon.
However, he noted that there are still challenges in ensuring that an electrolysis system like this is not corroded too fast from time to time. Boston Metal said they hoped to operate the first demonstration scale steel factory in 2028.
Separately, the US Electra company took a different approach to producing very pure iron from ore. Unlike Boston Metal, the electra process runs at relatively low temperatures, around 60-100C. First, iron ore is dissolved into an acid solution and then an electric charge causes iron to collect into a metal plate. This is similar to the process currently used to make copper and zinc sheets today.
“These plates are extracted automatically from the solution and the iron is harvested,” said Sandeep Nijhawan, one of the founders and executive heads. The demonstration factory in Colorado, which can produce 500 tons of iron every year, is currently determined to open next year.
Initially, the iron produced in this way will be more expensive than iron made using traditional techniques. But the “green premium” can be lost if the company can scale enough, said Nijhawan.
Mr Nicholas said that the technology that appeared like this was full of hope, but one challenge they faced was to enter the market in big matters in just a few years, because the need to cut emissions and curb climate change became increasingly urgent: “We run out of time to overcome carbon emissions.”
Companies such as Electra and Boston Metal offer a completely different vision of the steel manufacturing industry but they will not be far without further investment-market that appreciates what they do.
President Donald Trump’s tariff on steel imports to the US is allegedly designed to protect the domestic steel industry – but they are at risk of raising steel costs substantially for US customers.
I asked if Dr. Rauherdink, for one, was happy to see this step, or not. “We are quite happy to see a strong focus on critical metals,” he said, on the grounds that the tariff was “useful” for Boston Metal.
Although he acknowledged that the attitude of the US government towards renewable electricity, which according to Boston Metal wanted to prioritize as a source of energy, has changed lately. And, globally, maintaining low renewable energy costs is important for any company who hopes to shock the industry that was previously dominated by fossil fuels.
“This industry is getting sick there,” he said.
Source: BBC
