The investment represents the inaugural award under ArcelorMittal's XCarb Accelerator program, a competitive program that supports breakthrough technologies potentially able to accelerate the steel industry’s decarbonization efforts.

Ninety startups from five different continents submitted applications across seven technology domains, ArcelorMittal said. 

CHAR’s technology transforms organic waste streams into one of two valuable energy outputs: a high-calorific value and hydrogen-rich syngas that can be used as a replacement for natural gas or to make green hydrogen and biocarbon made from the remaining solids after the high-temperature pyrolysis process.
 
ArcelorMittal has been exploring the use of CHAR’s biocarbon in its steelmaking process, with encouraging results, the company said. As a result, ArcelorMittal Dofasco has signed a memorandum of understanding with CHAR for the purchase of biocarbon from CHAR’s Thorold, Ont., Canada, facility, enabling larger-scale trials in the coming years. 

“I am especially pleased that not only are we investing in them, but we are already working alongside them, testing their product at one of our Canadian steel plants,” said Irina Gorbounova, head of ArcelorMittal’s XCarb Innovation Fund.

“This is one of the advantages of our Innovation Fund and our unique approach. We provide seed capital of course, but we also provide the industrial infrastructure and R&D collaboration that breakthrough technology companies need to bring their product to market."