OMNI Features｜US start-up Electra Aims for Clean Zero-Carbon Steel Production．Final Investment Decision for the Development of Vietnam Block B Gas Field．The US Announces $4 Billion in Tax Credits to Build Clean Energy Supply Chain

US Startup Electra utilizes renewable Energy and special electrochemical ironmaking process to manufacture zero-carbon iron.
(Source: Bloomberg)

｜US start-up Electra Aims for Clean Zero-Carbon Steel Production with Support from Bill Gates and Amazon
US start-up Electra announced on Wednesday that it has commissioned its pilot plant in Colorado to produce clean metallic iron from high-impurity ores using renewable energy. In 2022, Electra raised $85m to support its plan from backers including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the energy innovation fund of Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

Ironmaking accounts for 90% of the CO2 emissions in steel production and a whopping 7% of global emissions. It uses what it says are "proven industrial-scale electrochemical and hydrometallurgical processes" to refine low-grade iron ores to high-purity iron at 60°C, "the temperature of coffee," and far colder than traditional processes using coal-fired furnaces. Electra says it is taking on this challenge by "enabling seamless integration of intermittent renewable energy resources, making emissions-free iron possible."

｜Final Investment Decision for the Development of Vietnam Block B Gas Field
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) through its wholly owned subsidiary Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. (MOECO), has made a final investment decision and concluded related contracts together with its business partners regarding an integrated development project (Block B Project) encompassing an upstream gas field and a pipeline linking it to a gas-fired thermal power plant complex.

The business partners include the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), PetroVietnam Exploration Production (PVEP), PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV Gas), and PTT Exploration and a Thai national oil and gas company, Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP).

The Block B Project will be the next-generation core business for MOECO, and production is scheduled to begin by the end of 2026. The project is expected to yield stable earnings in the long term. Production capacity is estimated to be 490 million cubic feet per day. In addition to the development of the upstream gas field, the Block B Project will also include a midstream development for gas transportation.

｜Biden Administration Announces $4 Billion in Tax Credits to Build Clean Energy Supply Chain
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today announced $4 billion in tax credits for over 100 projects across 35 states to accelerate domestic clean energy manufacturing and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at industrial facilities.

Projects selected for tax credits under the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Tax Credit (48C), funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, span across large, medium, and small businesses and state and local governments, all of which must meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements to receive a 30% investment tax credit.

Established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the § 48C Program was expanded with a $10 billion investment under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. At least $4 billion of the total $10 billion will be allocated for projects in designated 48C energy communities.

Of the $4 billion tax credits, $1.5 billion supports projects in historic energy communities. These projects will create good-paying jobs, lower energy costs, and support the climate, supply chain, and energy security goals.

Reference: RechargeNews｜Mitsui & Co｜energy.gov