Electra secures $30M loan to commercialize clean-iron

BOULDER — Electrasteel Inc., a developer of a more-sustainable iron and steel production process that does business as Electra, has secured a $30 million venture debt facility from J.P. Morgan, capital that the company plans to use to commercialize its process and operate its Jefferson County pilot plant.

“This funding gets us one step closer to bringing Electra’s clean iron to market, and we’re extremely pleased to have the world’s leading banking institution stand behind us as we scale,” Electra chief financial officer James Rutland said in a prepared statement. “J.P. Morgan’s financing demonstrates confidence in our business, technology and growth prospects. As a team, we’re strongly positioned to scale and meet the growing demand for Electra’s clean iron.”

The company, which last year raised $186 million in a Series B round. It uses an electrochemical process to refine low-grade iron ore — treated as waste in traditional refinement processes — into high-purity iron, lowering the process temperature from 1,600 Celsius, the typical temperature used for iron production, to a temperature that’s below the boiling point of water. Coal energy is replaced with intermittent renewable energy, and the resulting pure iron can be converted to steel.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify how Electra plans to use its new capital.

Share on Facebook on LinkedIn