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Traditional coal-based steel and high purity
iron production is a dirty and expensive
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process.
It’s essential for everything from cars and
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housing to AI data centers and rare earth
magnets, which are needed for defense systems,
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EVs, robotics, smartphones, medical devices,
and more.
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So it needs to happen.
But there may be a cheaper and cleaner way to
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do it.
Hertha Metals, a clean steel production startup,
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says it has successfully demonstrated.
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its single-step process for turning low grade
iron ore into molten steel or high purity iron.
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The company built a pilot plant in Texas, and
it’s been churning out 1 ton of steel per day
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for months now.
Next year, the company plans to build a new
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facility capable of 9000 tons per year and soon
after, it anticipates scaling to 500,000
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tons per year, on par with what commercial US
steel-making micro mills are producing.
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To do this, Hertha will rely on its proprietary
furnace that can process low grade materials
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like iron ore fines and even mill scale, which
is a waste byproduct of conventional steel
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making.
The company said that its furnace not only
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turns less desirable materials into valuable
resources, but it’s 30% more energy efficient
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than conventional steel making in the process.
The furnace also runs on either domestic
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natural gas or clean.
Hydrogen, meaning it can cut emissions anywhere
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from 50% to 98%.
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Perhaps most importantly, Hertha designed its
system to integrate directly into existing
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steel mills, which means producers won’t need
entirely new facilities if they want to adopt
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the company’s green technology, and even
smaller plants will be able to operate
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profitably due to Hertha’s modular design, with
backers, including Bill Gates recently placing
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a $17 million bet on Hertha.
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The company may have the momentum to help the
US create a reliable domestic supply of steel
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and high purity iron.
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I’m Ben Munson and this is Manufacturing Now.