The global steel industry, which has relied on traditional blast furnace methods since the mid-19th century, is facing a potential shift in production technology. Laureen Meroueh, founder of the startup Hertha Metals, has introduced a furnace design that aims to streamline the purification of iron ore. By consolidating the refining process into a single step and replacing coal with natural gas, the company claims it can reduce carbon emissions by at least 50% while lowering production costs by 25%.
The steel sector currently accounts for approximately 7% of global carbon emissions. While many green initiatives focus on hydrogen-based systems, Meroueh’s approach prioritizes immediate, cost-effective improvements. Hertha’s current pilot facility in Conroe, Texas, is capable of producing one metric ton of steel daily. According to Rajesh Swaminathan, a partner at investor Khosla Ventures, the company has achieved this output with significantly less capital than industry competitors, having raised roughly $20 million as of July 2026.
Iryna Zenyuk, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center at the University of California, Irvine, noted that the industry's existing infrastructure is notoriously energy-intensive and inefficient. She described the ability to produce even one ton of steel through a more efficient process as a significant achievement. Meroueh, an MIT mechanical engineering PhD graduate, designed the system to be adaptable; the hardware could eventually transition to a fully decarbonized, hydrogen-based process if fuel costs become more competitive.
Hertha Metals is currently planning to expand its operations. A new facility is expected to reach a capacity of 10,000 metric tons of high-purity steel annually by the end of 2027. Meroueh projects that with the addition of a third site, the company could increase its output to 500,000 metric tons per year by 2030. Reflecting on her motivation, Meroueh stated, “How can we be smarter about how we make things … so that it’s also not going to harm us in the long term?”
Source: MIT Technology Review
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