An employee guides a cathode coated with 99% pure iron out of an electrowinning cell at the Electra production facility

Shockingly greenPhotograph: Getty Images

Apr 1st 2026|Boulder, Colorado|5 min read

It is a wonderful idea. Eliminate the carbon-dioxide emissions from steelmaking (which amount to about 8% of anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions, more than three times the amount released by civil aviation) by liberating iron from its ore using electricity instead of chemicals. It works for non-ferrous metals like aluminium, so why not ferrous ones? Two firms are trying, with varying degrees of success, while a third is adapting chemical liberation to make it greener.

Baby bottle with measurement markings and a smiling pink nipple on a blue background.

A trio of firms want to clean up steelmaking