Green materials platform company Element Zero recently announced that it has raised $10 million in seed funding led by Playground Global. The company developed a novel approach to cost-effectively convert metal ores like iron, nickel, and other future-facing materials to pure metals with zero carbon emissions.
The low energy consumption and the ability to operate using intermittent renewable energy underpins the company’s capability to reduce carbon emissions on a global scale. Plus, Element Zero will utilize the funding to grow R&D, engineering, and project development teams and scale the development of a pilot iron plant. Peter Barrett, Co-Founder and General Partner at Playground Global joined the company’s board of directors in connection with the funding round.
Element Zero created a low-temperature mineral processing platform that utilizes renewable energy to convert iron ore to iron. And this non-aqueous electrochemical process allows Element Zero to process the full spectrum of iron ores; this includes the core 95% of Australian and Brazilian global trade in iron ore. Lower-grade iron ore cannot be processed using hydrogen-fed direct iron reduction or other lower-carbon processing technologies. This technology has been tested successfully on iron ore, nickel, and other future-facing metals. The lower temperature also allows Element Zero to run this process on intermittent renewables like wind, solar, and hydropower.
The current Element Zero prototype can produce 100 kg of zero-carbon iron per day while offering superior product purity – a testimony of the team’s capabilities and the simplicity and scalability of the process itself. Most notably, Element Zero:
– Achieved this milestone in 18 months, while proponents of other electrochemical technologies spent nearly a decade reaching a similar scale.
– Completed a detailed engineering design for one metric ton per day and is amid a procurement and manufacturing process while a 100 kg per day prototype is being tested and optimized using iron ore feed from major iron ore producers.
– The next scale-up is aimed to be completed and commissioned by the end of 2024.
The production of iron, steel, and other metals is an energy and carbon-intensive process, with steel production accounting for over 30% of carbon emissions from materials and over 8% of global carbon emissions alone. And with demand for these materials expected to double by 2050, there is a clear and urgent need to decarbonize. However, current approaches in this sector are energy-intensive and can only use very high-grade iron ore in their process; they cannot use renewable energy sources to power their plants due to the high temperature required. Element Zero’s platform will also serve as a cost-effective approach for decarbonizing heavy metals. As the price of high-grade iron ore continues to rise, Element Zero can process low-grade iron ore, which is widely accessible.
Based in Perth and the north of Western Australia (adjacent to the largest iron ore ports in the world responsible for exporting nearly 55% of the world’s seaborne iron ore supply), Element Zero plans to develop five million tons per year of iron ore feed, producing around 2.7 million tons of high purity iron.
Element Zero’s team comprises experienced leaders in the energy and materials industries with electrochemistry, engineering, metallurgy, project deployment, and fundraising expertise. Element Zero’s Co-founder and CEO Michael Masterman previously served as Executive Chairman of Squadron Energy, Australia’s largest renewable energy company. Before that, he was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Fortescue Future Industries, driving the company’s evolution from startup to global expansion and scale. He is a founding shareholder in several multi-billion dollar startups. And fellow co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Bart Kolodziejczyk served as Director of Hydrogen and Clean Technologies at Boston Consulting Group and Chief Scientist at Fortescue Metals Group.
KEY QUOTES:
“Element Zero will help transform Western Australia from the world’s mine into the world’s foundry, dramatically reducing carbon emissions in the process. Australia is poised to become a leader in resilient and sustainable global prosperity – its natural wealth in minerals and renewable energy blended with innovation in electrochemistry and new materials will cement its leadership in the energy transformation. Element Zero is a major catalyst in this shift and the Pilbara region in the north of Western Australia stands as the premier location globally to showcase the company’s potential.”
– Playground Global’s Peter Barrett
“Our processing platform will, for the first time, allow cost-effective and scalable production of carbon-free metals crucial to the iron and steel and critical metals industries. We are excited to have Playground Global join our journey to tackle the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors. Support from Playground Global goes way beyond financial investment, and we are already in deep discussions about developing green iron and green silicon value chains in the U.S. We are also working with major iron ore miners and iron and steel companies globally.”
– Michael Masterman, Founder and CEO of Element Zero
