Playground Global, an early-stage venture capital firm based in the United States, led the $10 million seed funding round that Australian green materials platform company Element Zero announced on Wednesday.
The company released a statement stating that it will scale the development of a pilot iron plant and expand its engineering, project development, and research and development (R&D) teams with the help of the funding.
Element Zero, based in Perth, Western Australia, and close to the world’s busiest iron ore ports—which export almost half of the world’s seaborne iron ore supply—aspires to produce 2.7 million tons of high-purity iron annually by developing five million tons of iron ore feed annually.
“Our processing platform will, for the first time, allow cost-effective and scalable production of carbon-free metals crucial to the iron and steel and critical metals industries,
“We are excited to have Playground Global join our journey to tackle the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors,” said Michael Masterman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Element Zero.
“Support from Playground Global goes way beyond financial investment, and we are already in deep discussions about developing green iron and green silicon value chains in the United States,
“We are also working with major iron ore miners and iron and steel companies globally,” he added.
The largest renewable energy company in Australia, Squadron Energy, had Masterman as its executive chairman.
Previous to that, he led Fortescue Future Industries’ growth from startup to scale and global expansion as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer.
Bart Kolodziejczyk, a co-founder of the company and its chief technology officer, previously held positions as chief scientist at Fortescue Metals Group and director of hydrogen and clean technologies at Boston Consulting Group.
In the meantime, Playground Global’s general partner and co-founder Peter Barrett has joined the board of directors.
“Element Zero will help transform Western Australia from the world’s mine into the world’s foundry, dramatically reducing carbon emissions in the process,” said Barrett.
“Australia is poised to become a leader in resilient and sustainable global prosperity – its natural wealth in minerals and renewable energy blended with innovation in electrochemistry and new materials will cement its leadership in the energy transformation,
“Element Zero is a major catalyst in this shift and the Pilbara region in the north of Western Australia stands as the premier location globally to showcase the company’s potential,” he added.
The goal of Element Zero, a green materials platform company, is to produce iron, steel, and other forward-thinking metals with zero carbon emissions.
The company has created a unique method for economically turning metal ores—like iron, nickel, and other materials with a bright future—into pure metals that emit no carbon dioxide.
The Element Zero process’ modular design attempts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from iron and steel production by 8% globally.
To speed up market adoption, the company is creating a portfolio of projects, the first of which will be situated in Western Australia’s north, which is the world’s largest source and holder of iron ore reserves.
