This founder is making cheaper, cleaner steel
Laureen Meroueh, founder of Hertha Metals, has developed a new furnace design that simplifies steel production by using natural gas instead of coal. This innovation aims to cut carbon emissions by at least half while reducing production costs by 25%.
Why it matters
Decarbonizing the steel industry is essential for climate goals, and this method offers a commercially viable path to reducing the sector's significant carbon footprint.
Climate change and energy This founder is making cheaper, cleaner steel Laureen Meroueh developed a method that cuts the costs—and the emissions—of steelmaking.
The steel industry isn’t exactly known for innovation. Very little has changed about purifying iron ore since the process was invented and commercialized in the 1850s.
The majority of steelmakers melt solid iron ore at dizzyingly high temperatures inside blast furnaces, where the material reacts with gases to trigger chemical reactions that remove oxygen. It then undergoes further refining to purify it before it is made into products like rebar and car frames.
The process relies on coal, and it generates roughly 7% of the carbon emissions that drive climate change—about as much as the fashion industry. Decarbonization has proved difficult: Profit margins are tight and furnaces have long service lives, making investment tough to justify.
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