Highlights

• Innovative partnership between University of Birmingham and CBMM aims to transform CO₂ conversion using niobium-based perovskites.
• Technology promises to slash emissions from traditional blast furnaces by up to 90% through a closed carbon loop process.
• PeroCycle, a university spinout backed by Anglo American, will lead the commercial rollout of this potentially game-changing decarbonization solution.

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A groundbreaking partnership between the University of Birmingham (opens in a new tab) and Brazil’s CBMM (opens in a new tab)—the world’s leading supplier of niobium—aims to secure the future of a potentially game-changing decarbonization technology for the steel industry and beyond.

As reported by The Business Desk (Afroze Zaidi, July 17), the joint project focuses on advancing the production and cost-efficiency of niobium-based perovskites, which can convert CO₂ into carbon monoxide (CO) with 100% selectivity. This CO can be recycled back into industrial processes, creating a closed carbon loop. Early modeling by Birmingham scientists suggests that this retrofit-friendly approach could slash emissions from traditional blast furnaces by up to 90%.

CBMM’s role is key: ensuring stable niobium supply and supporting scalability. While niobium is not classified as a critical mineral by the U.S. or EU, its use in steel, electronics, and now potentially green industrial retrofits makes it increasingly strategic. The material’s supply is also heavily concentrated in Brazil, raising long-term questions about source diversification.

The technology’s commercial rollout will be spearheaded by PeroCycle (opens in a new tab), a University of Birmingham spinout backed by mining giant Anglo American (opens in a new tab) and venture builder Cambridge Future Tech (opens in a new tab).

Professor Yulong Ding (opens in a new tab)%20and%20filed%20100%2B%20patents.), who leads the university’s Centre for Energy Storage, emphasized that the approach can decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors without requiring costly infrastructure overhauls. CBMM executive Leonardo Silvestre called the collaboration a “promising solution” for industrial decarbonization with strong technical and economic viability.

Unanswered Questions for Investors

• Will niobium’s role in this emerging perovskite platform prompt its elevation to critical mineral status by Western governments?
• Can CBMM’s monopoly-like position pose a bottleneck—or an opportunity—for Western industrial strategies?
• How quickly can PeroCycle move from modeling and lab-scale to full-scale retrofitting in live steel plants?

While this announcement falls outside the rare earth family, Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) flags it for retail investors as a prime example of how lesser-known transition metals, such as niobium, could become linchpins in the green industrial revolution—and how control of supply chains remains a strategic variable that has yet to be resolved.

Source: The Business Desk – “University of Birmingham partnership secures supply of rare metal for carbon recycling” by Afroze Zaidi, July 17, 2025.