Texas start-up Hertha Metals says a US$133.65 million series A financing will help it build a plant that uses its single-reactor Flex-HERS process to produce 10,000 tonnes per annum of high-purity iron for magnet and steel making. Construction is expected to start this year.
The funding round has been backed by the US Government via its Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program – to the tune of $65 million – and by Khosla Ventures and Doerr Capital.
Hertha, founded in 2022 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology mechanical engineering and materials science PhD Dr Laureen Meroueh, says Flex-HERS can produce iron and steel at 25% lower cost than conventional blast furnaces, with emissions reductions of 50% using natural gas and up to 98% using hydrogen.
Funding of its new Hertha Chalyx plant, to be built alongside its 360tpa Pi100 pilot facility, will create domestic feedstock US magnet and defence manufacturers currently lack, “making Hertha Metals as much a national security asset as an industrial one”, the company says.
Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) permanent magnets are about 70% high-purity iron by weight.
“Every electric vehicle, aerospace platform, radar system and data centre depends on domestic iron and magnet feedstock suppliers,” Hertha CEO Meroueh said.
“Hertha Chalyx closes that gap.
“We are building the supply chain this country needs and we are doing it by providing a domestic cost-competitive option for manufacturers while unlocking safer and cleaner production.”
As well as Khosla Ventures and Doerr Capital, private backers of the Hertha equity round include CEV, Pear Ventures, Gates Frontier, Niterra SUISO no MORI Fund, Toyota Ventures and Siemens Financial Services.
“Hertha has cracked what the steel industry has chased for many decades: iron and steel in one step, below blast-furnace cost and made in America,” said Khosla partner Rajesh Swaminathan.
“That’s the missing link for every magnet, EV, data centre and defence platform this country builds.
“We led their seed round to back this vision and have doubled down at every round since, due to their consistent execution and our strong conviction in the team.”
Doerr partner Ryan Panchadsaram said Hertha’s technology had potential to “produce critical materials at lower cost and with far lower emissions, while deepening essential domestic manufacturing capacity”.
“That’s the kind of innovation that can scale and make a real difference.”
