Electrochemical iron production for decarbonized steel supply chains
Electra is a cleantech manufacturer building an electrochemical process to produce iron directly from ore using electricity rather than carbon-intensive reduction. The tech stack—COMSOL, SCADA, Siemens automation, Ignition, and LabVIEW—reflects a capital-intensive, process-engineering operation deep in commissioning and scale-up phases. Hiring is weighted heavily toward senior engineering (8 roles) with leadership emphasis on manufacturing and operations, indicating they are moving from lab validation into plant deployment and process optimization.
Founded in 2020, Electra develops electrochemical technology to produce 99%-pure iron from ore using electricity and chemistry instead of traditional carbon-reduction methods. The company is based in Boulder, Colorado, and operates in the 51–200 employee range. Current focus includes commissioning a demonstration plant, implementing digital maintenance and SCADA systems, running accelerated life testing and thermal processing trials, and developing value-in-use models to support customer adoption. Pain points center on equipment reliability, plant performance optimization, and the commercial path to scale—typical for a pre-commercial advanced materials company transitioning prototypes into production.
Electra uses electrochemistry and electricity to convert iron ore into 99%-pure iron, replacing carbon-intensive smelting. The process is in demonstration-plant commissioning with trials underway on thermal processing and electrical system design.
Process automation: COMSOL, SCADA, Siemens S7, TIA Portal, Ignition. Monitoring and analysis: LabVIEW, Minitab, JMP, Excel. MES systems manage manufacturing execution.