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Boston Metal looks to disrupt and decarbonise steel and iron ore industries

Boston Metal is looking to decarbonise the steel-making sector at the same time as helping iron ore producers with their Scope 3 emissions dilemma.

The concept of ‘green steel’ has been widely discussed over the last few years, with LKAB, SSAB and Vattenfall’s HYBRIT project being the most cited case study, thanks to both its advanced stage of development – it has already produced fossil-free steel on a trial basis – and its revolutionary way of introducing hydrogen in place of coke as the iron ore reduction method in the steel-making process.

SSAB and LKAB are leveraging HYBRIT to completely transform their production processes: SSAB is building new hydrogen-based steel making facilities able to match its current base of 8.8 Mt/y of steel by 2030 and LKAB is moving from iron ore pellet production to direct reduced iron (DRI) in line with this.

Tadeu Carneiro, Chairman & CEO of Boston Metal

The ambitions of such a project are impressive, but can such a green steel-making process be applied to the circa-1,900 Mt of steel currently being produced for the world market?

The answer is no, according to Tadeu Carneiro, Chairman & CEO of Boston Metal.

He expands on this: “There are four ways of reducing iron oxides into a metal for steel-making. One is through the use of carbon; another way is through using another metal as a reductant, which is currently not feasible; the third one is with hydrogen, which is possible – as HYBRIT has shown – but is limited to premium iron ores; and the last is through our solution.”

The solution in question is – like HYBRIT – a green option, but – unlike HYBRIT – is applicable to all iron ores, regardless of grade, according to Carneiro.

Boston Metal’s process, which it calls Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE), works by adding iron ore to an electrolytic cell and passing electricity through said cell. The electricity both breaks the bonds of the iron oxides present, as well as heats up the whole batch within the cell, creating molten iron that sinks to the bottom of the cell ready for collection (tapping).

During the bond breaking and heating process, MOE produces oxygen as a by-product, with the resultant oxides forming the electolyte and remaining in said electrolyte (floating above the liquid iron).

“Because it is molten, the iron gets separated from the electrolyte and sits in the bottom of the cell,” Carneiro said. “As the molten iron is heavier than the electrolyte, the impurities float to the top and can be tapped separately.”

So, not only do companies using MOE get a molten iron product, they also get a slag by-product that can be used in various applications in the construction industry – all without using coking coal or coke.

“In traditional blast furnace-based steel making, you have to pelletise or sinter the iron ore, you need to process coking coal into coke and you then have to mix the two in the blast furnace and blow air to get pig iron,” Carneiro explained. “This pig iron contains around 4% carbon, which needs to be burnt off through, typically, a process in the basic oxygen furnace to get molten iron.”

Boston Metal’s MOE process gets to this same point using just iron ore and electricity, according to Carneiro.

“All of this is replaced by a battery of cells that, when assembled in significant numbers, can compete with blast furnaces in terms of molten iron capacity,” he said.

Carneiro expanded on what he meant by ‘significant numbers’, offering up an example of 300 MOE modules assembled in two lines of 150 able to produce 1 Mt of steel.

And all of this is in an incremental capital expenditure range within the millions of dollars, instead of the billions of dollars often required to build a traditional steel-making plant.

This puts a green process in the reach of not only steel-makers but iron ore producers, according to Carneiro.

“If you have green electricity at an iron ore mine, you can bring the cells there, melt the iron and ship a metallic product to steel-makers,” Carneiro said.

This pure iron product can be remelted elsewhere and processed into flat and long steel products for the automotive and construction industries.

“This represents a higher value-added product for iron ore miners, enabling them to ship a product that is 40% lighter in terms of weight,” Carneiro explained.

Finding a ‘green’ end-user that brings down a miners’ Scope 3 emissions while holding a molten iron ore product is a lot easier than finding one when shipping iron fines, concentrate or sinter: hence the reason why iron ore miners’ Scope 3 emission goals appear a lot less ambitious than the Scope 1 and 2 targets within their control.

It is no wonder BHP and Vale have been early backers of Boston Metal.

It sounds too good to be true, and there is a reason for that.

From speaking to Carneiro, the company could start producing molten iron through the chosen method today – not at a scale the steel-industry would yet consider commercial, but at a pilot scale at least.

For the commercial process to be considered green, the company would need renewable electricity to do this; and lots of it.

Carneiro doesn’t shy away from this, explaining that MOE will require 4 MWh of electricity per tonne of steel to work at such a scale. This is the equivalent of up to 500 MW for a 1 Mt/y molten iron plant.

The incumbent process Carneiro and his US-based team are looking to take market share from requires 5.5-6 MWh of energy per tonne of steel, while the electric arc furnace (EAF) method of making steel – which uses predominantly scrap metal – has a much smaller electricity requirement.

“If you had 2 billion tonnes of scrap to be melted, the EAF route is the best way to make steel, hands down,” Carneiro admits. “The problem is you don’t have such scrap availability and, in order to increase supply, you would need lots more steel coming from iron ore.”

For reference, the HYBRIT process is expected to require 600 MW of hydrogen electrolyser capacity to 2025 to get LKAB to the 1.3 Mt/y sponge iron (DRI) mark.

Yet, scrap steel is not the only thing in short supply currently. Green electricity is far from abundant, with only the likes of Quebec (hydro power capacity) and some Nordic countries having a plentiful supply – a fact Carneiro acknowledges.

“If you don’t believe that green electricity will be available, abundant, reliable and cheap in the future, you can forget about the MOE process,” he said. “But then you also have to forget about a lot of other processes that are set to use green electricity and the massive amounts of investment the green energy space is seeing on an annual basis.

“Society has decided to go electric and to go electric in a green way, so it is only reasonable to expect that, in the future, electricity will be all of this.”

Carneiro is planning for such a transition, with his company in the process of commissioning a full-size industrial MOE cell at its Woburn, Massachusetts headquarters. This could be ready as early as next month.

It follows a trial of a pilot cell at Brazil-based ferroniobium producer CBMM’s production plant in Araxá, Brazil, where the technology was able to use the same process to turn niobium ore into high-value ferroniobium-based products.

“We were able to prove out the process with CBMM on a smaller scale, which has given us the confidence to make a much bigger cell.”

The company plans to use this bigger cell and, through a subsidiary in Brazil, take advantage of other opportunities to extract value from mining waste using the MOE technology. This could see Boston Metal assemble a battery of MOE cells to manufacture some 5,000-10,000 t of high value-added metals.

While this is deemed ‘pilot scale’ for steel producers, it is sizeable for those producing high value-added products such as niobium, vanadium, tantalum, chrome and others, Carneiro said. And the project will only aide the company’s steel-making ambitions.

“By developing the cell for these high value-added metals, we are finding lots of the answers for the steel-sized cells as well,” he said.

Such groundwork today is preparing the company for a time when steel-makers and iron ore miners have assessed the green electricity landscape and are ready to invest in such technology.

“All the leading steel-making companies have made pledges to be carbon neutral by the 2050s,” Carneiro said. “This means they need to phase out carbon reduction by the mid- to late-2030s. By this point in time, we will be ready to offer our solution on a commercial scale, allowing them to take advantage of the abundance of iron ores – low and high grade – around the world.”

Rio Tinto Japan joins GVC Network as part of carbon footprint reduction plan

Rio Tinto Japan has joined Japan’s Green Value Chain Platform Network (GVC Network), a collaboration established by the Ministry of the Environment to lead transparent decarbonisation efforts in the country.

Representative Director and Rio Tinto Japan President, Bill Horie, said: “We are honoured to be welcomed into the Ministry of Environment’s GVC Network and look forward to engaging on innovative approaches with customers, government and industry to help reduce Japan’s carbon footprint.”

Formed in 2018, GVC Network member companies work to set science-based targets for emissions reduction that are economically feasible and effective for the achievement of their Scope 1, 2 and 3 targets; and to share solutions related to renewable energy, energy conservation, or energy storage, Rio said.

Rio Tinto aims to reach net zero emissions across its operations by 2050. Its efforts to support decarbonisation through state-of-the-art solutions such as START Responsible Aluminium – a leading traceability program – aligns with the GVC Network intentions, the company added.

The GVC Network collaborates formally through networking and has 141 members representing a variety of industries including: electronics, machinery and equipment, automotive, airline, pharmaceutical, chemical, cosmetics, building and construction, real estate, housing, printing, food and beverage, marine, retailing, publishing and logistics.

To help reach net zero emissions across its operations by 2050, Rio Tinto is targeting a reduction in emissions intensity by 30% and in its absolute emissions by 15%, both by 2030 and from 2018 levels. The company also plans to spend around $1 billion over five years on emissions reduction projects, research and development and activities to enhance the climate resilience of our business.

Rio Tinto has outlined a series of measurable and impactful Scope 3 emissions reduction goals to guide its approach, which features partnerships across China, Japan and South Korea – countries which account for 88% of the company’s value chain emissions (Scope 3).

The company has also committed that its growth over the next decade will be carbon neutral.

Australian Mines makes history with certified carbon neutral status

Australian Mines says it has become the first mineral resources company to be certified a “Carbon Neutral Organisation” under the Australian Government’s Climate Active program.

Climate Active is the most rigorous and credible carbon neutral certification available in Australia, according to the company, and meeting the “Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard” means Australian Mines’ carbon neutral status is based on best practice, international standards and genuine emissions reductions.

Last month, the Queensland Government offered a conditional financial support package to Australian Mines’ 100% owned Sconi cobalt-nickel-scandium project in the north of the state. When fully developed, Sconi is forecast to be one of the most cost competitive cobalt-producing, nickel operations in the world, Australian Mines says.

The 2018 Sconi bankable feasibility study outlined a three open pit, 2 Mt/y operation that could produce some 8,496 t/y of cobalt sulphate, 53,301 t/y of nickel sulphate and 89 t/y of scandium oxide over the 18-year mine life.

“Australian Mines ability to maintain carbon neutral certification will underpin its position as a sustainable business that incorporates leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices,” it said. The company is already an approved member of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), which independently verifies and certifies socially and environmentally responsible mining.

Australian Mines’ Managing Director, Benjamin Bell, said becoming the first Climate Active Carbon Neutral mineral resources company is consistent with Australian Mines’ commitment to leading on ESG.

“It follows the approval in March 2020 of our membership of IRMA and the Queensland Government recognising our commitment to the communities where we operate by granting ‘Prescribed Project’ status to our flagship Sconi project in 2019,” he said.

Australian Mines’ primary focus is to sustainably develop the Sconi project into a globally significant, ethical, reliable source of technology metals to meet the rapid growth in the electric vehicle and energy storage industries, it says.

A key part of sustainably developing Sconi is the company’s carbon neutrality plan designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by implementing energy saving initiatives coupled with offsetting any unavoidable emissions.

“Being certified Carbon Neutral by Climate Active is part of building a sustainable future for Australian Mines, long-term value for our shareholders and a better environment for all our stakeholders,” Bell said. “Members of the Climate Active Network are responsible for over 22 Mt of carbon emissions being offset, which is the equivalent of taking all of Sydney’s cars off the road for two years.”

Australian Mines shoots for carbon neutral status

Australian Mines has teamed up with sustainability, carbon and energy management consultancy, Pangolin Associates, to develop a “Carbon Neutrality plan” and achieve 100% carbon neutral status by June 30.

Australian Mines, which is developing the Sconi cobalt-nickel-scandium project in Queensland, Australia, aims to become certified Carbon Neutral, under the Australian Government’s Climate Active Program, through reducing the company’s greenhouse gas emissions and offsetting its remaining carbon-generating activity, it said.

“Making the decision to become carbon neutral is part of Australian Mines’ ongoing commitment to building a sustainable business that incorporates leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices,” the company said.

The move follows the approval of the company’s membership of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in March 2020. The IRMA is an independent third-party organisation that verifies and certifies socially and environmentally responsible mining, according to Australian Mines, with the company now working towards IRMA certification specifically for the Sconi project.

Australian Mines aims to invest A$1 billion ($604,020) to build a commercial battery metals production plant on the Sconi site. The proposed plant is expected to process 2 Mt/y of ore into battery-grade cobalt sulphate and nickel sulphate, with scandium recovery and production of high purity scandium oxide, it says. Over the life of the proposed Sconi project, 1.4 Mt of nickel sulphate and 200,000 t of cobalt sulphate is due to be produced.

Australian Mines Managing Director, Benjamin Bell, said being 100% carbon neutral was an extension of the company’s commitment to taking a leading position on ESG.

“It will follow on from the approval in March 2020 of our membership of IRMA and Sconi being given ‘Prescribed project’ status in early 2019 by the Queensland Government, which is a recognition of our commitment to the communities where we operate,” he said.

Australian Mines is partnering with Pangolin, which works with the Australian Government’s Climate Active Program, to develop a Carbon Neutrality plan. Australian Mines said it expected to begin implementing its plan by June 30 and be formally certified carbon neutral by the government before the end of the year.

Bell added: “We will join more than 90 organisations across Australia that have attained certified carbon neutrality, leading to over 15 Mt of carbon emissions being offset, or the equivalent of 4 million cars being off the road for a year.”

thyssenkrupp looks to go ‘climate neutral’ by 2050

thyssenkrupp has set some ambitious greenhouse gas emission goals as it looks to fall in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

The group aims to cut 30% of its emissions from production and outsourced energy by 2030, and become “climate neutral” by 2050, it said.

thyssenkrupp CEO, Guido Kerkhoff, said: “The threats posed by climate change affect us all. As an industrial company with operations around the globe, we are in a particularly good position to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through sustainable products and processes. We take this responsibility very seriously and have received several awards for this in recent years. Now, we are setting ourselves clear targets for 2030 and 2050 as the next logical step.”

In February, thyssenkrupp was named as a global leader in climate protection for the third year in a row by the non-governmental organisation, CDP, which assesses whether companies have formulated a coherent strategy on how to further improve their own environmental performance as well as that of customers and suppliers. The company, once again, achieved the highest score possible and was placed on CDP’s global ‘A List’, it said.

The targets now announced take in thyssenkrupp’s own production operations, the energy it purchases and its products. In steel production, for example, thyssenkrupp is currently pursuing two approaches to reducing CO2 emissions: The Carbon2Chem project, which is expected to be available on an industrial scale before 2030, and the so-called hydrogen route, which should take full effect by 2050 and make the biggest contribution to directly avoiding CO2. Carbon2Chem converts steel mill emission gases, including the CO2 they contain, into valuable chemicals.

thyssenkrupp’s hydrogen route, meanwhile, involves replacing coal with ‘green’ hydrogen as the reducing agent for blast furnaces so that, in the long term, no CO2 is created in the production of steel. These technologies are being funded by the German federal government and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Under its Climate Action Program for Sustainable Solutions, thyssenkrupp will also systematically work to make its products carbon neutral. The group already offers a technology for the cement industry that permits CO2 emissions from the combustion processes to be captured for subsequent storage or processing. In the area of sustainable mobility, thyssenkrupp is working with European partners to produce fuel from biomass. These fuels reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90% compared with conventional fuels, according to thyssenkrupp.

Other key areas include the e-mobility sector, where thyssenkrupp supplies battery production lines and special steels for electric motors. The group is also actively involved in the development of energy storage solutions, for example with electrolysis systems that convert electricity into hydrogen. These storage systems allow a constant supply of electricity from renewables regardless of the weather, thyssenkrupp says.

Dr Donatus Kaufmann, thyssenkrupp Board member responsible for technology, innovation, sustainability, legal and compliance, said: “Our goals are ambitious but achievable. Our strategy for our steel operations alone will cut production-related emissions there by 80% by 2050. But if we are to achieve our climate targets, we need to make significantly more use of renewable energies. Also, there are no internationally harmonised financial incentives for investments in CO2 abatement technologies. These are basic requirements for making a real change.”