Last March, Boston Metal said it had moved one step closer to commercializing its technology after successfully producing steel from its industrial-size system in the Boston suburb of Woburn. The accomplishment “de-risks our technology and validates scalability to achieve commercial production,” the company said in a press release.
Yet as Boston Metal works to refine its green-steel system, it has also been pursuing projects in Brazil that it hopes could become a reliable source of revenue in the nearer term.
Boston Metal’s same molten oxide electrolysis process can be used to extract high-value metals such as niobium, chromium, and manganese from mine-waste tailings. That could reduce the need for other companies to pull those materials directly from the earth.
Adam Rauwerdink, Boston Metal’s senior vice president of business development, told Canary Media last June that the company was initially focusing on extracting and selling niobium — a valuable alloying element used in steel production — to start bringing in money. At the time, niobium sold for about $82 per kilogram (about $74,000 per ton), while steel went for roughly $900 per ton.
Prior to last month’s accident, Boston Metal said it had already restructured its business to concentrate on advancing its operations in critical metals. “There is strong near-term demand for critical metals, while the cost and complexity of developing molten oxide electrolysis [for steel] have outpaced what our current revenue and available capital can support,” the company said in this week’s statement.
Boston Metal’s Brazilian subsidiary, Boston Metal do Brasil, built and began operating a pilot facility in the state of Minas Gerais in 2023. Last year, it completed construction on an industrial critical-metals plant, and the subsidiary was set to start “generating revenue with industrial-scale production” this year, according to a company fact sheet.
Though Boston Metal says it will press ahead with its high-value metals strategy, it’s unclear how the industrial accident in Brazil will affect that production timeline or impact Boston Metal’s broader expansion plans in the United States. The announcement of layoffs in Massachusetts comes shortly after the office of Democratic Gov. Maura Healey awarded Boston Metal over $950,000 in capital grants to upgrade its Woburn operations — public backing that was reportedly expected to lead to local job growth.
“In the coming months, our priority will be restoring operations in Brazil and scaling the critical metals business in Brazil, the U.S., and internationally,” the company said.
{
if ($event.target.classList.contains(‘hs-richtext’)) {
if ($event.target.textContent === ‘+ more options’) {
$event.target.remove();
open = true;
}
}
}”
>
Great Job Maria Gallucci & the Team @ Canary Media for sharing this story.
