“Clean iron produced from a wide variety of ore types is the key constraint to decarbonizing the steel industry sustainably. With support from our partners across the value chain, the pilot brings us closer to our goal of producing millions of (metric tons) of clean iron by the end of the decade,” said Electra chief executive officer and co-founder Sandeep Nijhawan. 

The process uses a first-of-a-kind, low-temperature technology to produce metallic iron from already mined, high-impurity, commercially stranded ores. 

“The pilot is designed to produce clean iron in approximately 1 m square plates, and we are increasing capacity in a phased approach to validate modularity. By repeatedly connecting the iron plates already demonstrated at the pilot scale, the plant capacity is increased to millions of tonnes of iron production at the commercial scale,” the company said.