KEY POINTS
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Hertha Metals broke ground Oct. 8 on a roughly $100 million commercial plant in Conroe, Texas.
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The Hertha Chalyx plant is designed to produce about 10,000 metric tons of steel-grade and magnet-grade high-purity iron annually.
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Commercial operations are targeted for late 2027, with magnet-grade production expected to begin in early 2028.
Hertha Metals broke ground Oct. 8 on a roughly $100 million commercial plant in Conroe, Texas, aimed at expanding the domestic supply of high-purity iron used in rare-earth magnets and steelmaking.
The Hertha Chalyx plant is designed to produce about 10,000 metric tons annually of steel-grade and magnet-grade high-purity iron, according to the company's announcement.
Hertha expects the facility to come online in late 2027, with magnet-grade production beginning in early 2028.
What Will Hertha Chalyx Produce
Hertha Chalyx will be built next to Hertha's Pi100 pilot plant, creating what the company describes as a modern iron and steel innovation complex.
Hertha states that it "developed the world's first single-step process for making iron and steel from ore." The single-step Hertha process can use different grades of iron ore and produce either liquid steel or high-purity iron in one furnace.
The Conroe facility, about 40 miles from Houston, will initially supply high-purity iron to U.S. rare-earth magnet manufacturers while also producing iron and steel for trials with steelmakers and other manufacturers.
Hertha said high-purity iron makes up about 70% of the weight of neodymium-iron-boron magnets and that an estimated 94% of the high-purity iron used for those magnets is produced in China.
The company claims the process "produces iron and steel at 25% lower cost than the blast furnace route, with safer operations and ~50% lower emissions on natural gas, or up to 98% lower emissions using hydrogen."
Rare-earth magnets are used in many applications, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, data centers, robotics and defense systems.
How is US Manufacturing Doing
The Hertha announcement comes as "US Manufacturing construction recorded more than $50 billion in starts during July and August, the strongest two-month period on record," according to ConstructConnect Associate Economist Devin Bell.
Bell added that, "The surge was driven by major semiconductor and advanced-manufacturing projects, highlighting how reshoring and domestic investment can translate into substantial construction spending."
Also, ConstructConnect recently reported new domestic manufacturing initiatives in pharmaceuticals, architectural paints and coatings, national defense, and cable and wire.
How Will the Plant Support Domestic Manufacturing
The plant will use domestic iron ore, primarily from Minnesota's Iron Range, and natural gas from Texas. Hertha said it has reached 99.95% purity at the Pi100 pilot plant and is working to qualify as a supplier to major U.S. rare-earth magnet producers.
The project follows Hertha's $133.65 million Series A financing, which included a $65 million equity investment from the U.S. government through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program. The funding will support the company's commercial-scale development.
What Comes Next
Hertha named Pittsburgh's CV Engineering as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner for Chalyx.
In its announcement, Hertha said successful commercial operations would establish the foundation for a planned 500,000-metric-ton-per-year iron and steel mill.
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