Electra (ElectraSteel, Inc.) is a clean iron technology company developing an electrochemical process for producing high-purity iron from low-grade iron ores, with the goal of decarbonizing one of the most emissions-intensive stages of steel production.
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, Electra is developing an alternative to conventional blast furnace ironmaking. Rather than relying on coke-fired furnaces operating at temperatures above 1,600°C, the company uses its patented low-temperature electrochemical process powered by renewable electricity to convert iron ore into metallic iron. The resulting product can serve as a feedstock for electric arc furnaces (EAFs), supporting efforts to reduce carbon emissions across the steel value chain.
The company has attracted significant attention as governments and manufacturers pursue low-carbon steel production. Since its founding, Electra has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Revolutionizing Ore to Steel to Impact Energy (ROSIE) program and secured backing from climate-focused investors including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Temasek, Capricorn Investment Group, S2G Ventures, Collaborative Fund, and others. In April 2025, the company announced a $186 million Series B funding round to accelerate commercialization of its clean iron technology, followed in 2026 by a $30 million financing from J.P. Morgan to support construction of its previously announced demonstration-scale production facility in Colorado.
Reinventing iron production through electrowinning
At the core of Electra’s technology is an acid-based electrowinning process that extracts iron directly from ore using electricity instead of carbon-based reducing agents. The process begins by dissolving iron ore in an acidic electrolyte, where iron remains in solution while co-minerals and other impurities are separated as the acid is continuously regenerated. An electrical current is then applied to electrodeposit high-purity metallic iron onto the cathode while generating oxygen at the anode as a by-product.
Unlike conventional direct reduced iron (DRI) processes, which typically require high-grade iron ore and natural gas or hydrogen at elevated temperatures, Electra operates at approximately 60°C. The technology is also designed to process low-grade iron ores, iron ore fines, and mining waste streams that are generally unsuitable for conventional low-carbon ironmaking technologies, expanding the range of usable feedstocks.
By separating iron from co-minerals during processing, Electra produces high-purity iron suitable for downstream steelmaking while eliminating the direct process carbon dioxide emissions associated with conventional blast furnace ironmaking. The company also continuously regenerates the acidic electrolyte during operation, minimizing reagent consumption while supporting efficient iron recovery.
Expanding the feedstock base for green steel
A key differentiator of Electra’s technology is its feedstock flexibility. Conventional DRI technologies generally depend on high-grade iron ore pellets containing more than 67% iron, creating supply constraints as demand for low-carbon steel increases. Electra instead targets lower-grade ores with higher concentrations of silica, alumina, and other impurities, as well as mine tailings and previously uneconomic iron resources, to produce 99%-pure clean iron. Through selective electrochemical deposition, the process separates iron from these contaminants without requiring energy-intensive beneficiation.
The ability to utilize more abundant ore resources could reduce raw material costs while expanding geographic options for clean iron production. It may also create opportunities to recover value from mining waste, supporting broader resource efficiency within the metals industry.
Scaling from laboratory innovation to commercial production
Electra has focused on scaling its electrochemical platform from laboratory validation toward commercial deployment by expanding pilot operations and demonstrating continuous production, process efficiency, and product quality. The company has also developed a modular system designed to simplify scaling and deployment.
A major milestone came in 2025 with the announcement of a $186 million Series B financing to accelerate engineering, manufacturing scale-up, and construction of a demonstration plant. Electra also became the first recipient of the Colorado Industrial Tax Credit Offering (CITCO), securing up to $8 million in refundable tax credits for greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects. In 2026, the company secured an additional $30 million financing from J.P. Morgan to support development of its first clean iron production facility in Jefferson County, Colorado.
Building partnerships across the emerging green steel ecosystem
Electra’s commercialization strategy extends beyond technology development through partnerships across the steel value chain. The company has established relationships with mining companies, steel producers, equipment suppliers, and climate-focused investors to support deployment of its technology. It has also attracted interest from companies like Toyota, Interfer Edelstahl, Meta, Nucor, and POSCO, highlighting growing demand for low-carbon iron feedstocks compatible with existing electric arc furnace (EAF) infrastructure.
Rather than replacing downstream steelmaking, Electra aims to decarbonize the upstream iron production stage by supplying clean iron that integrates with established EAF production routes.
As demand for low-emissions steel grows across the automotive, construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors, electrochemical ironmaking is emerging alongside hydrogen-based direct reduction, molten oxide electrolysis, and other next-generation steelmaking technologies. Electra’s focus on low-temperature processing, renewable electricity, and lower-grade ore utilization positions the company among a growing group of innovators seeking to reduce emissions from an industry responsible for approximately 8% of global carbon emissions.
Electra: Patenting Activity
Electra’s patent activity suggests a continued emphasis on refining and expanding its core electrochemical ironmaking platform rather than pursuing entirely new technology directions. Notably, the company’s first patent filings appeared approximately one year after its founding in 2020, coinciding with its early financing efforts. In June 2021, CEO and co-founder Sandeep Nijhawan filed a Form D with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a $28.25 million equity raise from eight investors, with proceeds intended to accelerate development of the company’s now-patented low-temperature electrochemical process for producing clean iron using intermittent renewable electricity.
Electra’s yearly filings demonstrate its iterative engineering culture. Co-founder and former CTO Quoc Pham, who left the company in May 2025, described the two-step ironmaking process as a foundation to keep refining through experimentation, championing a “fast-fail,” first-principles engineering culture. The patent portfolio’s progression, from core electrochemical iron conversion and carbon capture to later reagent recycling and higher-efficiency electrowinning, tracks that same approach, with each filing addressing a technical bottleneck and improving the platform’s performance and scalability.
Electra: Top Technology Areas
Electra’s patent portfolio is dominated by electrochemical processing technologies, particularly electrolytic compound production (C25B), metal extraction and refining (C22B), and electrolytic metal production (C25C). Together, these technologies underscore the company’s core electrowinning platform, which uses low-temperature electrochemical and hydrometallurgical processes to convert iron ores into high-purity metallic iron using renewable electricity instead of conventional carbon-intensive blast furnace methods.
Note: Data obtained from Questel Orbit.
Other major technology areas include iron and steel manufacturing (C21B) and steel refining (C21C), highlighting continued development of downstream metallurgical processes and integration of electrochemically produced iron into commercial steelmaking workflows.
The portfolio also includes climate-focused manufacturing technologies (Y02P) and greenhouse gas mitigation (Y02E), underscoring the company’s emphasis on decarbonizing primary iron production. Additional patents covering electroplating and electrodeposition processes (C25D), electrochemical energy technologies (H01M), and magnetic materials and inductive systems (H01F) suggest substantial research into electrodeposition, electrochemical process optimization, reactor design, and potential downstream applications of Electra’s clean iron, including iron-based energy storage technologies.
Electra: Top Law Firms
Electra’s patent filings between 2020 and 2026 were supported by a network of intellectual property firms across multiple jurisdictions. Leydig, Voit & Mayer handled the largest number of filings, followed by Davies Collison Cave, IP March, Soei Intellectual Property Law, and Won International Patent & Law Firm. Other notable representatives include Bereskin & Parr, Hannke Bittner & Partner, Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property (AGIP), Smart & Biggar, and Marks & Clerk.
The distribution of legal representatives reflects Electra’s international patent strategy, with filings managed through firms active in key steel manufacturing and industrial markets across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australia.
Electra: Featured Patents
This section highlights select patents from Electra’s portfolio and the innovations behind them. Since filing its first set of patents in March 2021, Electra has built a growing patent portfolio centered on its low-temperature electrochemical ironmaking platform, covering technologies related to acid-based electrowinning, ore dissolution, iron conversion, impurity removal, electrochemical process optimization, and recycling of metallurgical by-products.
Focusing on the company’s U.S. patent portfolio, Electra has primarily relied on Leydig, Voit & Mayer as its legal representative for patent filings. Below are three U.S. patents and patent applications that showcase the company’s innovative solutions for clean iron production.
Optimizing low-temperature iron conversion through two-step ore dissolution and electrowinning
Conventional ironmaking relies on carbon-intensive, high-temperature processes that generate substantial carbon dioxide emissions and require high-grade iron ores. Although electrochemical iron production offers a promising low-carbon alternative, efficiently dissolving iron ore, managing impurities, regenerating acid, and electroplating iron at industrially viable rates, particularly using intermittent renewable electricity, have long been considered technically and economically impractical.
U.S. Patent No. 12,065,749, titled “2-step iron conversion system,” addresses these challenges through a two-step electrochemical iron conversion system comprising separate dissolution and iron-plating subsystems. Iron ore is first dissolved in an acidic solution, where ferric ions (Fe³⁺) are electrochemically reduced to ferrous ions (Fe²⁺) while regenerating the acid. The iron-rich solution is then transferred to a second electrochemical cell, where the ferrous ions are electrodeposited (i.e., electrowon) as high-purity metallic iron. By independently optimizing ore dissolution and iron plating, the system enables efficient, low-temperature iron production from a wide range of iron feedstocks while supporting acid regeneration and recycling, impurity removal, compatibility with intermittent renewable electricity, and substantially carbon-free clean iron production.
Beyond the core iron conversion process, the patent also outlines broader applications of the technology, including production of green steel using renewable electricity and the use of the resulting high-purity iron in iron-based battery technologies. The disclosure further emphasizes low-temperature operation well below the boiling point of water, which distinguishes the process from conventional high-temperature ironmaking and improves its compatibility with variable renewable energy sources.
The ‘749 patent was filed on July 26, 2023 and was granted on August 20, 2024. Legal representation was provided by Leydig, Voit & Mayer. The listed inventors are Ai Quoc Pham, Sandeep Nijhawan, Adolfredo Alvarez, Colleen Wallace, and Steven Fatur.
Integrating carbon capture and mineral recovery through closed-loop electrochemical acid-base generation
Electra’s primary mission is to decarbonize ironmaking through low-temperature electrochemical processing powered by renewable electricity. Beyond eliminating carbon emissions from iron production itself, the company’s research also explores how electrochemical technologies can further improve decarbonization efforts, including carbon capture and the recovery of valuable materials from minerals and industrial feedstocks. Conventional carbon capture processes often rely on dedicated sorbent materials, energy-intensive chemical production, or limited integration with industrial mineral processing, making efficient and economically viable carbon removal a continuing technical challenge.
U.S. Patent No. 12,486,585, titled “Carbon capture using electrochemically-produced acid and base.” provides a solution in the form of a closed-loop electrochemical process that generates acid and base from a recyclable salt solution using an electrochemical acid-base generator. The acid dissolves iron-containing minerals or metallurgical feedstocks, such as slags, while controlled, staged additions of the electrochemically produced base sequentially remove impurities and selectively precipitate iron, magnesium, and calcium compounds. The recovered magnesium and calcium hydroxides can then serve as carbon-capture materials by absorbing carbon dioxide from air, industrial gases, or seawater, while the remaining salt solution is recycled to regenerate fresh acid and base. By integrating reagent regeneration, selective material recovery, and carbon-capture material production into a single renewable-energy-compatible process, the invention provides a more efficient and sustainable approach to both resource utilization and carbon dioxide removal.
Beyond carbon capture, the invention also integrates with downstream iron and steel production. The selectively precipitated iron hydroxide can be recovered as an iron-bearing intermediate and subsequently converted to metallic iron through hydrogen direct reduction, thermal or chemical reduction, or electrochemical reduction before being processed into steel. Depending on composition and purity, the recovered iron hydroxide may also be blended with other iron feedstocks for steelmaking, while mixed metal hydroxides can provide additional value through material recovery or alloy production. Coupling carbon-capture material production with the recovery of iron suitable for downstream processing also extends Electra’s electrochemical platform beyond emissions reduction to support a more circular and resource-efficient ironmaking value chain.
The ‘585 patent was filed on September 5, 2024 and was granted on December 2, 2025. Legal representation was provided by Leydig, Voit & Mayer. The listed inventors are Ai Quoc Pham, Sandeep Nijhawan, Kevin Galloway, Adolfredo Alvarez, Philip Wagner, and Steven Fatur.
Improving electrowinning efficiency through ferric ion scrubbing
Electra’s low-temperature ironmaking process converts iron ore into metallic iron through a multi-step electrochemical route involving acid leaching or dissolving of iron-containing feedstocks, impurity removal, and electrowinning of dissolved iron in an electrochemical plating cell. During development of this process, the company recognized that efficient iron electrowinning from acidic iron-rich solutions can be hindered by the accumulation of ferric ions (Fe³⁺). Elevated ferric ion concentrations promote parasitic hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) and ferric hydroxide precipitation on the cathode, reducing plating efficiency, degrading iron purity and deposit adhesion, and limiting operation at the higher pH conditions that favor efficient iron deposition.
U.S. Provisional Pat. App. Ser. No. 63/567,814, titled “High efficiency iron electrowinning.” builds upon Electra’s low-temperature ironmaking platform by introducing a “ferric scrubber” that electrochemically converts dissolved ferric ions (Fe³⁺) into ferrous ions (Fe²⁺) before electrowinning. The ferric scrubber places an iron-based metal in electrical communication with an electrochemically active surface (EAS) of a reduction-catalyst material (e.g., graphite, graphene, carbon felt, etc.) while both remain in ionic communication through the aqueous acidic solution. This configuration enables ferric ions to be preferentially reduced to ferrous ions at an improved rate exceeding hydrogen evolution. By continuously lowering ferric ion concentrations before electroplating, the system suppresses hydrogen evolution, improves current efficiency, enhances iron purity and deposit quality, and supports more stable clean iron production compatible with the company’s renewable-electricity-powered operation.
Rather than introducing an entirely new ironmaking process, this invention refines one of the key bottlenecks in Electra’s electrochemical platform: the efficiency of iron electrowinning. With parasitic side reactions minimized and a ferrous-rich electrolyte maintained, the ferric scrubber has the potential to improve process efficiency, reduce energy losses, and enhance the overall economics and scalability of Electra’s low-temperature electrochemical ironmaking platform.
The ‘814 provisional patent application was filed on March 20, 2024, establishing the earliest priority date for the invention. Legal representation was provided by Leydig, Voit & Mayer. The listed inventors are Ai Quoc Pham, Tim Rackers, Adam M. Maraschky, Trevor M. Braun, Colleen Wallace, Emma Wagstaff, Harsha Vempati, Fridrik J. Diehl, Michael Street, Pavel Petrovich Mardilovich, Anders Hamburgen, and Timothy James Dowell.