Founded in Colorado in 2020, Electra has a proprietary technology that produces solid iron by removing impurities from iron ore through electrochemical reactions. The company is currently constructing a pilot plant with an annual capacity of 500 tons, which is planned to become operational within this year.

Under the agreement, the parties aim to jointly validate the technical and economic feasibility of commercial production by integrating POSCO’s direct reduction technology with Electra’s low-carbon iron production system.

Electra Co-founder and CEO Sandeep Nijhawan stated that POSCO has deep expertise in steel production, manufacturing technologies, and process development, adding that this partnership will contribute to scaling clean iron production in line with long-term plans.

Eom Kyeong-geun, Head of POSCO Technical Research Laboratories, emphasized that the collaboration aims to create synergy between POSCO’s proprietary direct reduction and engineering technologies and Electra’s innovative electrochemical process.

Meanwhile, it was also announced on the same day that POSCO Investment signed a corporate venture capital investment agreement with Electra. POSCO Investment President Kim Keun-hwan noted that this investment represents the company’s first overseas strategic venture capital investment in the decarbonized steel sector and constitutes an important step toward climate technologies.