Electra has discovered a cheap, clean way to clean steel, and is raising $257M to make it happen.

Electra raised $76.3 million to clean up the steel industry, TechCrunch has learned.

The invention has created a new way to use electricity to extract pure iron from low-grade ore, opening the door to pure iron. A new way of raising money, which was revealed in a to keep the rulesit wants to raise $256.7 million.

Steel production today is very polluting. They are responsible for the largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 7% of the world’s emissions. The main process used to make steel today – smelting ore in blast furnaces powered by burning fossil fuels – has not changed much over the years.

When these companies want to clean up, they start looking for alternatives. ElectraA solution to this problem, known as electrowinning, is already used to produce other metals such as copper and nickel. Electrowinning uses an electric current to pull metal from a liquid solution. The metal is coated on the electrode while the impurities fall to the bottom of the tank.

But turning electrowinning into steel has been difficult, in part because it requires high-quality ore, making the end product too expensive to compete with blast furnaces.

Electra says its acid-based process can handle low-grade ores. It heats the solution to about 60°C, which is below the boiling point of water, and then sends the solution to the problem. The dishes that come with it are good food for the electric oven, which can also run with extra energy.

When combined, electrowinning and electric-arc furnaces can eliminate most carbon steelmaking emissions.

Electra raised $85 million in 2022 from investors including Amazon, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BHP Ventures, and Nucor.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.