Moltra
- Pre-Seed
- Industry
Megan O’Brien
CTO & Co-Founder
Moltra develops a novel ironmaking process that produces low-emission pig iron at blast furnace-level cost without green hydrogen or carbon capture.
Moltra has developed a novel ironmaking process that converts low/mid-grade ore, natural gas, and electricity into pig iron and solid carbon with near-zero direct emissions. By drawing on industrially proven technologies like smelting and methane pyrolysis, Moltra delivers cost-competitive, deeply decarbonized iron without the supply chain dependencies or cost premiums of today's emerging green steel solutions.
80% CO2
reduction per ton of pig iron produced
Building a future where steel the backbone of modern civilization no longer comes at the cost of the planet. Beyond incremental improvements, Moltra rewrites the economics of ironmaking: low-emission, cost-competitive, scalable.
Problem
Steel accounts for 8-10% of global CO₂ emissions, yet meaningful decarbonization remains out of reach. Low-emission ironmaking solutions are emerging, but none can simultaneously achieve deep emissions cuts, compete on cost without subsidies, scale to multi-megaton capacity, and leverage existing energy and raw material supply chains. Meanwhile, regulatory pressure is mounting carbon pricing mechanisms like ETS, CBAM, and OBPS are increasingly penalizing high-emission production, while demand for steel is expected to rise 30% by 2050.
Solution
Moltra's novel ironmaking process converts low/mid-grade ore, natural gas, and electricity into pig iron and solid carbon delivering near-zero direct emissions at blast furnace-level cost. By building on industrially proven technologies like smelting and methane pyrolysis, Moltra eliminates the need for green hydrogen or carbon capture, removing the two biggest barriers to affordable green steel. The solid carbon co-product generates additional revenue, further improving unit economics and accelerating the path to commercial scale.