In good news for people and planet, the new process can make steel that is completely carbon neutral.
MIT spinout Boston Metal has powered up its electricity driven steel production reactor and made over a ton of metal in a crucial step toward scaling up its process. With clean electricity, the process will be able make steel with zero CO2 emissions.
According to the World Steel Association, steel production releases almost twice its weight in carbon dioxide pollution. Specifically, it says, for every one metric tonne of the metal produced, 1.92 metric tonnes of the greenhouse gas is released. That accounts for between seven and nine percent of global CO2 emissions - roughly triple the emissions of the global aviation industry.
Without going into the technicalities of Boston Metal's process, the key thing to know is that if the electricity that drives the reaction is provided via a clean method such as wind or solar, then the molten metal that results would be completely carbon neutral.
Because the current reactor can only make about a ton or two of material per month, the company plans to build an even larger demonstration plant set to come online in 2026 and begin operations a year later. Ultimately, Boston Metal hopes to license its green production process to other steel manufacturers.
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