A Texas company is betting $100 million that it can help break China’s grip on a critical material used in electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense equipment—starting with a new plant near Houston.
Hertha Metals broke ground Thursday on Chalyx, a $100 million plant in Conroe, designed to produce about 10,000 metric tons of steel-grade and magnet-grade high-purity iron per year, according to a recent news release. Built beside Hertha’s Pi100 pilot plant, the complex is expected to become the first modern iron and steel innovation complex in the U.S.
Chalyx, located on FM 3082 in Conroe, is expected to begin operating in late 2027 and produce high-purity iron for magnets in early 2028. The plant will run on domestic iron ore, primarily from Minnesota’s Iron Range, and Texas natural gas.
The plant will make high-purity iron for U.S. companies that produce rare-earth magnets, which are used in electric cars, wind turbines, data centers, robots and defense equipment. Hertha says China currently produces about 94 percent of the high-purity iron used in them…