Hertha Metals breaks ground on $100 million high-purity iron plant in Conroe
Hertha Metals broke ground on a $100 million plant in Conroe to produce high-purity iron for U.S. rare earth magnet manufacturers.
The facility, called Hertha Chalyx, is located on FM 3082 about 40 miles north of Houston. Hertha said the plant is expected to come online in late 2027, with magnet-grade high-purity iron production beginning in early 2028.
The rare earth magnets made with high-purity iron are used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, data centers, robotics and defense systems. U.S. officials have expressed concern about the supply chain after China announced last year that it would restrict exports of certain rare earth materials. An estimated 94% of the high-purity iron used in NdFeB magnets is currently made in China.
Hertha said Chalyx will run on domestic iron ore, primarily from Minnesota’s Iron Range, and Texas natural gas. The plant is being built next to the company’s Pi100 pilot plant. Hertha said the two facilities make up the first modern iron and steel innovation complex in the United States.
The company said it developed a single-step process for making iron and steel from ore by feeding iron ore and natural gas into one furnace. By controlling the process chemistry, the furnace can produce either liquid steel or high-purity iron. Hertha said the method costs 25% less than the traditional blast furnace route and cuts emissions by 50% when using natural gas, or by up to 98% when using hydrogen.
Dr. Laureen Meroueh, CEO and founder of Hertha Metals, said the company spent the past two years proving the technology through production.
“With Chalyx, we take the next step: proving the business and demonstrating that our technology can deliver commercially,” Meroueh said. “We’re starting with high-purity iron to fill a critical gap in the domestic rare earth magnet supply chain, but the vision reaches much further. Successful commercial operations here will lay the foundation for our first 500,000-ton-per-year steel mill.”
Hertha has selected CV Engineering as the engineering, procurement and construction management partner for the project. The firm specializes in steel industry design and construction and will lead the work through the plant’s completion.
Kalyan Sennerikuppam, president and CEO of CV Engineering, said building a new primary ironmaking plant next to an operating pilot-scale process is unusual.
“Our job is to take what Hertha has proven and build it to the standard the steel industry expects of any mill,” Sennerikuppam said.
CV Engineering said it has delivered engineering and construction management on more than $50 billion in U.S. steel mill projects for companies including Nucor, U.S. Steel, Big River Steel, Steel Dynamics, ArcelorMittal and Hybar.
Hertha said funding for the new plant includes a $65 million equity investment announced earlier this year. The company did not identify the investors in the announcement.
