Boston Metal, a company developing technology to fully decarbonise steel production, announced the $120 million first close of Series C fundraising led by a multinational steel company, ArcelorMittal S.A. Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and SiteGround Capital also joined as new investors in this round, alongside current investors.
ArcelorMittal’s lead investment was made through its XCarb® Innovation Fund. Commenting, Aditya Mittal, CEO, ArcelorMittal, said, “In Boston Metal, we are investing in a team that has made impressive progress over a relatively short period of time, developing a technology that has exciting potential to revolutionize steelmaking. In our extensive discussions with them, we have been impressed by the passion and vision they have to contribute to the decarbonisation of steelmaking. They are an exciting and welcome addition to the XCarb® Innovation Fund’s portfolio.”
Boston Metal’s patented Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) process is being commercialized to produce both green steel and high-value metals, such as tin and niobium. The Series C funds will expand the production of green steel at the company’s pilot facility outside Boston and will support the site selection and preliminary design of its first green steel plant. The new resources will also support the construction and commissioning of a manufacturing facility for high-value metals at the company’s Brazilian subsidiary, Boston Metal do Brasil.
“Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund was created to accelerate technology development and deployment in areas that will have the most meaningful impact on climate. The technology Boston Metal is developing has the potential to deliver affordable green steel at scale, helping to drive cross-industry decarbonisation, which is increasingly critical for companies with carbon reduction targets, such as Microsoft,” said Brandon Middaugh, director, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund.
With the closing, Irina Gorbounova of ArcelorMittal and Rick Cutright of current investor OGCI Climate Investments joined the company’s board of directors. “Boston Metal has built an incredible team that has been making significant progress advancing its disruptive technology since we first invested in its Series A,” said Rick Cutright, technology director, OGCI Climate Investments. “We’re very excited to continue that investment and be part of this next important phase of the company’s growth as it builds capacity that will revolutionize the steel industry and support a net zero economy.”
Steel is one of the most important materials for our society with almost 2 billion tons produced each year, but the industry relies on a carbon intensive manufacturing process that contributes almost 10 per cent of global carbon emissions. Major steel consumers in the automotive, construction, and technology sectors are demanding net zero steel solutions, and the steel industry has committed to reaching net zero by 2050. Boston Metal is commercializing a zero-emissions technology intended to reach the billion-ton scale at the competitive production costs required to revolutionize the steel industry. The company’s MOE platform uses renewable electricity to convert all iron ore grades into steel through an energy efficient, one-step process. The MOE technology does not release carbon dioxide or other harmful byproducts, and there’s no need for process water, hazardous chemicals, or precious-metal catalysts.
“Our technology is designed to decarbonize steel production at scale. We believe we have the experienced team, strong financial backing, and innovative technology required to disrupt the industry. ArcelorMittal’s support further reinforces our capacity to lead the green steel revolution,” said Tadeu Carneiro, chairman and CEO, Boston Metal.
Complementary to the company’s work in steel, Boston Metal do Brasil is focused on using MOE to advance the efficiency, sustainability, and profitability of metals production. MOE selectively extracts valuable metals from complex, low-concentration materials that are currently considered waste. This enables miners to reduce the financial and environmental liabilities of slag by leveraging this natural by-product of metal production to create new revenue streams. First earnings from Boston Metal do Brasil are anticipated in 2023.
