Molten oxide electrolysis

Producing metal by passing electric current through molten ore, splitting it directly into liquid metal and oxygen gas.

• Iron ore dissolved in molten oxides at about 1,600 °C is split by current; liquid iron pools at one electrode while oxygen forms at the other.
• With clean electricity there are no direct CO2 emissions and no need for coal or hydrogen as an intermediate.
• Aluminium has been made by electrolysis since 1886, but that process uses carbon electrodes that burn away into CO2.
• The core challenge is an inert electrode that survives molten oxide at 1,600 °C for long periods; Boston Metal is scaling the process.