Making carbon-free steel with clean electricity
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Steel production generates almost 10% of global carbon emissions and has long been considered “hard to abate.” Enter Boston Metal, a startup that aims to make carbon-free steel using only (sing it with me!) clean electricity. CEO Tadeu Carneiro explains “molten oxide electrolysis” and its potential to transform the industry.

This boston company has developed a new process to manufacture steel using zero carbon dioxide and a whole lot of electricity

  • quicken@aussie.zone
    1·
    5 months ago

    Probably a better article - https://news.mit.edu/2024/mit-spinout-boston-metal-makes-steel-with-electricity-0522

    It’s trying to commercialise MIT research. It’s always hard to tell in this early days if that’ll work out or not.

    There are many other efforts around the world of low or zero carbon emission steel. Almost none of them are cheap enough to take off unless the cost carbon emissions increases a couple of orders of magnitude.

    • Dippy@beehaw.orgOP
      1·
      5 months ago

      This process seems to have a lot going for it in being small, modular, and single step. That theoretically opens the door for smaller steel making businesses which is good for impoverished countries, or for companies that want to make their steel in-house. And he tacked on at the end that a similar process with maybe a better anode and cathode could end up refining a lot of mining “waste” could reduce our mining needs.