Boulder startup ElectraSteel raises $28.25M as it seeks to electrify steel production

BOULDER — A Boulder startup has raised $28.25 million in an attempt to clean up steel production, which globally accounts for three gigatons of carbon-dioxide emissions per year, or 10% of the worldwide total.

ElectraSteel Inc., formed in July 2020, Wednesday submitted a Form D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, announcing the equity raise from eight investors, with June 1 the date of first sale. Form Ds are required to be filed by some companies to report exempt offerings of unregistered securities.

Sandeep Nijihawan, founder and CEO, could not be reached for comment, but he recently posted an update on his LinkedIn page:

“I am excited to share what I have worked on for the past year with our team, investors, and partners,” he wrote. “I founded ElectraSteel last year with the mission to electrify and decarbonize iron and steelmaking using intermittent renewable energy. Steel, a trillion-dollar commodity, is the foundational building block of the industrial world that accounts for three gigatons or 10% carbon dioxide emissions per year.”

He added that the company’s investors include “leading sustainability-focused global venture capital funds with $300B+ assets under management. We are building a mission-driven, results-oriented company with world-class talent from across the world, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, USA.”

The company’s website states that its mission is “to electrify and decarbonize steelmaking using renewable energy with zero carbon dioxide emissions while lowering the energy intensity and cost.”

Nijihawan formerly served as president of AquaHydrex Inc., based in Louisville, according to his LinkedIn profile, and worked as operating partner with True North Venture Partners, a venture-capital and private-equity firm based in Chicago. He also served as founder and president of Louisville-based Staq Energy Inc. from May 2016 to December 2019.

ElectraSteel is located at 4909 Nautilus Court N.

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