A New Zealand-based start-up has raised NZ $20m ($11.6m) with plans to bring new hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) technology to market.
CullBeck, which launched in 2025, claims its hydrogen-based steelmaking process drastically reduces production time and costs, while eliminating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Designed for titanomagnetite ores, which are abundant in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific region, the technology replaces the conventional blast furnace with a green hydrogen-based direct reduction process.
Cullbeck says it has designed its technology to be deployed modularly, in units with the capacity to produce up to 10 tonnes per hour.
Now it is planning a 2.5-tonne-per-day demonstration facility near Auckland and ultimately aims to target Asia-Pacific markets, where titanomagnetite ores are widely found.
It said it has signed a “foundational customer supply agreement” with an unnamed Australian energy company.
Martin Hacon, CEO of CullBeck, said the raise “reflects the scale” of the challenge in decarbonising the steel industry, a sector responsible for 7 to 8% of global carbon emissions.
Although green hydrogen-based DRI could be a key decarbonisation solution, major players have backed away from plans to transition the process amid high costs.
ArcelorMittal, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, delayed final investment decisions on its decarbonisation projects, despite securing some €3.5bn ($4bn) in subsidies for its DRI installations.
European firm Salzgitter is emerging as a frontrunner in low-carbon steelmaking with its Salcos DRI project set to launch in 2027 and targeting up to two million tonnes of green steel per year.
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