The production of high-quality biographite from pyrolysis bio-oil using iron catalyzed graphitization offers a sustainable alternative to fossil-derived graphite, enhancing the security and reliability of energy storage systems in global supply chains. Along with biographite production, bio-based hydrogen can be obtained, adding great value to biorefinery economics. However, high energy consumption and catalyst and acid solvent recycling hurdles represent technical barriers to the scalability and sustainability of the process. On the other hand, the need to decrease carbon dioxide emissions through direct reduction of iron oxides with hydrogen has been a top research topic in the steel industry for several years. This study presents a novel, integrated approach for producing high-quality biographite and metallic iron using fast pyrolysis bio-oil as feedstock for the iron-catalyzed graphitization. The process valorizes bio-based hydrogen for reducing iron oxides, offering a sustainable pathway to partially decarbonize the steel industry while enhancing the circularity of energy storage materials. A key innovation lies in the integration of biographite production with hydrogen-based ironmaking in a single energy-efficient facility. Techno-economic and energy analyses reveal that energy integration can reduce electricity demand by 30–40%, reallocating surplus energy to the highly intensive graphitization step. The process achieves a metallic iron mass yield of ~90% from iron oxides, with an optimal bio-graphite:hydrogen:Fe₂O₃ ratio of 10:1:36. The minimum selling price of biographite drops to $4.3/kg, a 25% reduction compared to standalone processes. Sensitivity analysis highlights that blast furnace temperature and graphitization electricity use are the most impactful economic variables. Importantly, the integrated process enables up to an 88% reduction in CO₂ emissions versus conventional graphite and iron production routes. These results position this bio-based integration as a promising strategy for low-carbon materials manufacturing. Future work will explore pyrolysis gas reforming for H₂ production and biochar reuse to further enhance process sustainability.
