The World Bank is betting on this company to 'green' the .6 trillion steel industry — take a look inside

Technology

The World Bank is betting on this company to ‘green’ the $1.6 trillion steel industry — take a look inside

Published

2 years ago

June 5, 2023

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Boston Metal CEO, Tadeu Carneiro

Photo courtesy Boston Metal

In an indistinct office park in the suburban outskirts of Boston, a ten-year-old startup is trying to reinvent a process at the core of the $1.6 trillion steel industry to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change.

Boston Metal was spun out of research developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013 and has since raised a total of $250 million. The 120-person company is working on a green way to make steel, which is both the backbone of modern infrastructure construction and a significant contributor to climate change, generating between 7% and 9% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the World Steel Association.

Boston Metal has not started generating revenue and is still iterating on the final technology that it will use to make clean steel at scale.

But recently, it signed a $20 million funding deal with the private-sector investment arm of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation.

It’s the first time the IFC has ever invested in a pre-revenue startup, which speaks to the value the World Bank sees in helping low-income nations make steel without carbon emissions, IFC Director William Sonneborn told CNBC.

“I am just here in Africa,” Sonneborn said in a video call from Senegal at the end of May. “There are hundreds of millions of people that don’t have a house. At some point, they’re going to need steel. And so the incremental steel production of the world is not going to be in the U.S. — the technology may have been invented at MIT, but the incremental steel production is not going to be in the U.S.”

The majority of crude steel, 59%, was manufactured in developing countries in 2021, according to the IFC. Boston Metal’s process will be particularly attractive in developing nations that also have access to clean electricity, such as Chile, Ethiopia, Malawi, Uruguay, and Zambia, the IFC says.

CNBC visited Boston Metal’s headquarters in Woburn, Mass., at the end of May to learn more about the startup that’s raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors like ArcelorMittal (the second-largest steel producer in the world), Microsoft‘s Climate Fund, and Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures in addition to the World Bank.

The Boston Metal offices in Woburn, Mass.

Cat Clifford, CNBC

How Boston Metal is cleaning up the historically dirty backbone of infrastructure

The conventional steel-making process puts iron ore or iron oxide in a coal-powered blast furnace, which generates significant carbon dioxide emissions. In a conventional steel mill, two tons of carbon dioxide are generated for every ton of steel that is made, explained Boston Metal executive Adam Rauwerdink during a tour of the lab.

Instead, Boston Metal uses an electro-chemical process called molten oxide electrolysis.

A diagram of the process Boston Metal is using to make green steel.

Graphic courtesy Boston Metal

The technique passes electricity through iron oxide mixed with a slew of other oxides, which are chemical compounds that contain at least one oxygen atom. If the electricity that goes into the process is clean, then the steel that comes out the other side of the electrolysis cell is clean, too.

The process resembles a battery, with a positively charged anode and negatively charged cathode directing the flow of electricity through the process.

For Boston Metal’s electrolysis to work, it has to convert the alternating current from the grid to direct current.

This is where the electricity is converted from AC to DC in the Boston Metal location. (A portion of the photo has been altered to protect the intellectual property of Boston Metal.)

Cat Clifford, CNBC

The anode in Boston Metal’s process was a key development from MIT. It’s primarily made of chrome and iron with some other small quantities of other materials mixed in, and does not get consumed or corroded during the electrolysis process.

“What’s special about it is it can survive at high temperature — 1,600 Celsius, 3,000 Fahrenheit. And as you’re doing electrolysis, you’re using electrons to split apart iron and oxygen. So that anode is getting hit by oxygen all day long at super high temperature, and it has to survive in that environment,” explained Rauwerdink during a tour of the lab. “There’s very few elements that will do that. That alloy is one that will.”

The byproduct of the process is oxygen.

The Boston Metal electrolysis process releases oxygen as a byproduct. On the screen circled, oxygen bubbles can be seen being released. (The text on the white board has been blurred out to protect the intellectual property of Boston Metal.)

Cat Clifford, CNBC

While Boston Metal is still iterating on the commercial-scale technology, the science behind the process is assured.

“It’s no longer a binary thing that you will fail or you will succeed,” Boston Metal CEO Tadeu Carneiro told CNBC in Woburn. “It’s a question of how long will be the life of the anode? Is it going to last three years or two years? That’s where we are now, we are finalizing all the parameters in order to build the biggest, the largest industrial cell. So that’s where we are.”

The steel industry is watching.

“The first thing I did when I joined the company was to visit my friends, all the CEOs of the different steelmaking companies, especially in Asia, to present them the idea. That’s six years ago,” Carniero said. “It’s funny, for most of them, it seemed to be too early. Now, they are all desperate — because they have to find a solution. And they don’t have a solution.”

Other benefits of the process

Boston Metal’s process can use low-grade iron ore, which is one of the reasons that the IFC invested in the company.

Boston Metal can make steel with low grade iron ore, such as this Australian ore from mining company BHP, which is one of the start-up’s investors.

Cat Clifford, CNBC

“There are many emerging markets that have lots of iron ore, it’s just low quality and so therefore they can’t have steel production with blast furnace technology. They can use the Boston Metal technology,” Sonneborn told CNBC.

That means that these developing markets can make their own steel, creating self-sufficiency for these countries’ economies, Sonneborn said.

Also, the electrolysis cells can get bigger to a certain point, but after that the company will have to place many cells next to each other to make green steel.

This is a mid-size electrolysis device, between the lab scale bench and the full-scale cell. This can run for weeks at a time and gathers performance data for the anode. (The text on the white board has been covered to protect the intellectual property of Boston Metal.)

Cat Clifford, CNBC

“If you go to a full-scale plant using this technology, you might see a couple hundred electrolysis cells.” Rauwerdink told CNBC.

That cell modularity is attractive to the World Bank.

“The modular technology of Boston Metal allows a small country like Burkina Faso to build their own steel plant, to have their own steel production — as opposed to importing it from India and paying hard currency outside of the country when it could actually do it internally,” Sonneborn told CNBC.

Here, one full-scale anode is running the electrolysis process at Boston Metal’s Woburn location.

Cat Clifford, CNBC

Another, faster path to revenue

Boston Metal is in the midst of raising what it hopes will be a $300 million funding raise. So far, it has closed half of that round and has “much of the remainder spoken for,” Rauwerdink told CNBC.

The main goal of Boston Metal is green steel, but the company will also use its core electrolysis technology to produce tin, niobium, and tantalum metals from what is otherwise considered waste from the mining process. About one third of the $300 million will go towards getting this program commercialized in its Brazil subsidiary, and the largest device the company has built so far will be used there.

Reporter Cat Clifford stands next to Boston Metal’s multi-anode electrolyzer cell. (A portion of the device has been covered to protect the intellectual property of Boston Metal.)

Cat Clifford, CNBC

Niobium is primarily used in making steel, tin us used both as a metal and in electronics, and tantalum is used, among other purposes, in the electronics industry for capacitors and other components.

“It’s easier, that’s why we can deploy earlier,” Carneiro told CNBC in Woburn. “The characteristics of the anodes are different.”

The metal-generation business in Brazil will be the first to generate revenue for the company.

The other two thirds of the $300 million raise will go towards finalizing the development of the steel making process and its components. Boston Metal plans to be at commercial scale for making green steel in 2026.

When Boston Metal is ready to commercialize its green steel operation, these kinds of cells will run for years at a time. Boston Metal will make money both by licensing the technology and by making and selling the anodes needed for the green steel process.

Boston Metal hopes to start licensing the technology in 2026, Carniero told CNBC.

IFC wants Boston Metal to be successful so that it can help developing nations build their own steel manufacturing, but also so it can generate returns for other projects. IFC does not pay out dividends from its investments to investors — all gains go right back into the coffer.

“When we exit, all of those gains are going to go back to solving gender inequality in India or South Asia or climate challenges in different aspects. So every profit that we make, again doesn’t get distributed as a dividend to our shareholders, it gets reinvested back into our development goals,” Sonneborn told CNBC.

Why poorer countries want rich countries to foot their climate change bill

Technology

Elon Musk’s xAI Holdings in talks to raise $20 billion, Bloomberg News reports

Published

3 hours ago

April 26, 2025

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Elon Musk's xAI Holdings in talks to raise billion, Bloomberg News reports

The X logo appears on a phone, and the xAI logo is displayed on a laptop in Krakow, Poland, on April 1, 2025. (Photo by Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Elon Musk‘s xAI Holdings is in discussions with investors to raise about $20 billion, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The funding would value the company at over $120 billion, according to the report.

Musk was looking to assign “proper value” to xAI, sources told CNBC’s David Faber earlier this month. The remarks were made during a call with xAI investors, sources familiar with the matter told Faber. The Tesla CEO at that time didn’t explicitly mention any upcoming funding round, but the sources suggested xAI was preparing for a substantial capital raise in the near future.

The funding amount could be more than $20 billion as the exact figure had not been decided, the Bloomberg report added.

Artificial intelligence startup xAI didn’t immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment outside of U.S. business hours.

Faber Report: Elon Musk held call with current xAI investors, sources say

The AI firm last month acquired X in an all-stock dea l that valued xAI at $80 billion and the social media platform at $33 billion.

“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined. Today, we officially take the step to combine the data, models, compute, distribution and talent,” Musk said on X, announcing the deal. “This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach.”

Read the full Bloomberg story here.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin contributed to this report.

Technology

Alphabet jumps 3% as search, advertising units show resilient growth

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2025

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Alphabet jumps 3% as search, advertising units show resilient growth

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai during the Google I/O developers conference in Mountain View, California, on May 10, 2023.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Alphabet‘s stock gained 3% Friday after signaling strong growth in its search and advertising businesses amid a competitive artificial intelligence environment and uncertain macro backdrop.

“GOOGL‘s pace of GenAI product roll-out is accelerating with multiple encouraging signals,” wrote Morgan Stanley‘s Brian Nowak. “Macro uncertainty still exists but we remain [overweight] given GOOGL’s still strong relative position and improving pace of GenAI enabled product roll-out.”

The search giant posted earnings of $2.81 per share on $90.23 billion in revenues. That topped the $89.12 billion in sales and $2.01 in EPS expected by LSEG analysts. Revenues grew 12% year-over-year and ahead of the 10% anticipated by Wall Street.

Net income rose 46% to $34.54 billion, or $2.81 per share. That’s up from $23.66 billion, or $1.89 per share, in the year-ago period. Alphabet said the figure included $8 billion in unrealized gains on its nonmarketable equity securities connected to its investment in a private company.

Adjusted earnings, excluding that gain, were $2.27 per share, according to LSEG, and topped analyst expectations.

Amazon sellers raise prices after Trump’s China tariff: ‘It’s unsustainable’

Published

19 hours ago

April 25, 2025

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Amazon sellers raise prices after Trump's China tariff: 'It's unsustainable'

An Amazon employee works to fulfill same-day orders during Cyber Monday, one of the company’s busiest days at an Amazon fulfillment center on December 2, 2024 in Orlando, Florida.

Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo | Getty Images

For 10 years, Aaron Cordovez has been selling kitchen appliances on Amazon. Now he’s in a bind, because most of his products are manufactured in China.

Cordovez, co-founder of Zulay Kitchen, said his company is moving “as fast as we can” to move production to India, Mexico and other markets, where tariffs are increasing under President Donald Trump, but are mild compared with the levies imposed on goods from China. That process will likely take at least a year or two to complete, he said.

“We’re making our inventory last as long as we can,” Cordovez said in an email.

Zulay is also temporarily raising the price of some of its milk frothers, smores roasting sticks and other products. The company’s popular kitchen strainer now costs $12.99, up from $9.99 before Trump announced his sweeping tariff proposal earlier this month.

Amazon merchants are hiking prices for everything from diaper bags and refrigerator magnets to charm necklaces and other top-selling items as they confront higher import costs. E-commerce software company SmartScout tracked 930 products on Amazon that have seen increased prices since April 9, with an average jump of 29%.

The price hikes affect a range of categories, including clothing, jewelry, household items, office supplies, electronics and toys.

The trade war with China has threatened to upend sellers on Amazon’s third-party marketplace, which accounts for about 60% of the company’s online sales. Many merchants are based in China or rely on the world’s second-largest economy to source and assemble their products.

Sellers are now faced with the conundrum of raising prices or eating the extra costs associated with Trump’s new tariffs. It’s an existential threat for many sellers, who subsist on razor-thin margins and have, for the last several years, dealt with rising costs on Amazon tied to storage, fulfillment, shipping and advertising fees along with pricing pressure from increased competition.

CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC earlier this month that the company was “going to try and do everything we can” to keep prices low for shoppers, including renegotiating terms with some of its suppliers. But he acknowledged some third-party sellers will “need to pass that cost” of tariffs on to consumers.

Amazon’s stock price is down 15% so far this year, sliding along with the broader market. The company reports first-quarter earnings next week.

Watch CNBC's full interview with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

Goods imported from China now face import duties of 145%, though Trump said Wednesday his administration is “actively” talking with China about a potential deal to lower tariffs. Chinese officials on Thursday denied that trade talks are taking place.

About 25% of the price increases observed by SmartScout were initiated by sellers based in China, said Scott Needham, the company’s CEO. Last week, stainless steel jewelry maker Ursteel hiked prices on four of its products by $6.50, while apparel brand Chouyatou raised the price of some of its dresses by $2. Both businesses are based in China’s Zhejiang province.

Anker, a Chinese electronics brand and one of Amazon’s largest sellers, has raised prices on one-fifth of its products sold in the U.S., including a portable power bank, which went up to $135 from $110, SmartScout data shows.

Representatives from Anker, Ursteel and Chouyatou didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Zulay, headquartered in Florida, is one of many U.S.-based sellers raising prices. The company is also cutting costs. Cordovez said he’s been forced to lay off 19% of his workforce and slash online ad spending by 85%.

Desert Cactus, based in Illinois, is also taking action. Joe Stefani, the company’s president, has been looking to move production of some of his brand’s college-themed merchandise out of China and into Mexico, India and Vietnam. About half of Desert Cactus’ goods come from China, while the rest are made in the U.S., Stefani said.

An Amazon worker moves a cart filled with packages at an Amazon delivery station in Alpharetta, Georgia, on Nov. 28, 2022.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

One of the company’s top products is a customizable license plate frame that’s manufactured in China. At the start of Trump’s first term in 2016, Stefani’s company paid import and shipping fees of 4% on the license plates. That rate has since skyrocketed to 170%, he said.

“The tariffs can’t stay this high,” Stefani said. “There’s so many people that just aren’t going to make it.”

Stefani said he expects Desert Cactus will end up raising prices on some products, though he’s worried shoppers might be put off by sticker shock.

“Will someone be willing to pay $50 for a hat on Amazon?” Stefani said. “You know it’s going to be expensive at the ballpark, but on Amazon we don’t know.”

Dave Dama, co-founder of health and beauty business Pure Daily Care, said the price to manufacture one of his skin-care products in China jumped to $25 from $10. Most Amazon sellers will have no choice but to raise prices, he said.

“If you were selling something for $40 and making a $7 or $8 profit at the end of the day, with these tariffs, those days are gone,” Dama said. “You can’t do that anymore. It’s unsustainable.”

Pure Daily Care plans to stagger price increases over several weeks, and only on products “we absolutely need to,” to keep Amazon’s algorithms from ranking it lower in search results or losing the valuable buy box, he said. The buy box determines which listing pops up first when a shopper clicks on a particular product, and the one that gets purchased when they tap “Add to Cart.”

An Amazon spokesperson said the company’s pricing policies continue to apply.

“As always, sellers set their own prices, and we regularly monitor how we highlight great prices as Featured Offers to provide customers with low prices across a wide selection,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Dama said his company has enough inventory for some products to last up to six months, which it aims to “stretch as long as possible” in the hope that China and the U.S. can reach a trade deal. The company is also forgoing some sales promotions and discounts, while pausing spend on some display and video ads.

Regarding his inventory, Dama said, “We can try to stretch that seven, eight, nine months, which buys us a lot more time for this thing to work out, hopefully.”