The Boulder startup replaced a 1,600°C blast furnace with chemistry at roughly 60°C. Its first experiment said the idea was dead; a month later, it had the workaround - and now steelmakers are buying the demonstration output.
ArcelorMittal sells the material beneath modern life - then confronts the carbon bill attached to making it. Its next act is a high-stakes rebuild of steel, powered by scrap, electricity, research and a supply chain few rivals can match.