Hertha Metals said Monday it has broken ground on Hertha Chalyx, its first commercial plant, in Conroe, Texas. The plant is designed to produce about 10,000 metric tons a year of steel-grade and magnet-grade high-purity iron combined, next to the company’s Pi100 pilot plant. It will run on domestic iron ore, primarily from Minnesota’s Iron Range, and Texas natural gas.
The roughly $100 million plant is funded from Hertha’s $133.65 million Series A, which included a $65 million equity investment from the US government. A Pentagon economic defense official framed the investment as building domestic capacity ahead of a supply chain disruption. Chalyx is expected online in late 2027, with magnet-grade production beginning in early 2028.
The company’s first priority is high-purity iron for US rare earth magnet makers. Neodymium-iron-boron magnets are about 70 percent high-purity iron by weight and go into electric vehicles, wind turbines, data centers, robotics and defense systems. Hertha says an estimated 94 percent of that high-purity iron is made in China. In August the company reported reaching 99.95 percent purity at its pilot, the specification it says top magnet manufacturers require, and says it is in supplier qualification with major US magnet producers.
Hertha’s process, called FLEXHERS, combines electric arc furnace technology with natural gas or hydrogen to make primary iron and steel. The company presents Chalyx as the proving step toward a first 500,000-ton-per-year steel mill. All figures in this story come from the company’s announcement as reported by a single outlet, and are graded accordingly.