Biotechnology is one of four categories in the 35 Innovators Under 35 list for 2026, featuring young people worldwide doing new work in science and technology. Meet the rest of them here, or explore the full list across the AI, computing and robotics, biotechnology, and climate and energy categories.
A new furnace for steel
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. But Laureen Meroueh, founder of Hertha Metals, has an idea that could change that.
Meroueh may have found a way to clean up steelmaking without driving up the price. Her new furnace turns iron ore into refined liquid steel in a single step and swaps coal for natural gas. Together, those changes slash emissions by at least half, she says, and cut costs by 25% compared with steelmaking as usual.
Here’s how she plans to make steel cleaner without making it more expensive.
Laureen Meroueh is one of the climate change and energy honorees on our 35 Innovators Under 35 list.
Industrial impact
Steel production is a massive source of carbon emissions globally, responsible for about 7% to 9% of all CO2 released into the atmosphere. The traditional method relies on high-temperature blast furnaces to convert iron ore into pig iron, which is then refined further. Coal is typically used as both a fuel and a chemical agent to reduce the iron oxide.
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Meroueh’s approach replaces coal with natural gas, a cleaner-burning fuel source. The single-step process eliminates the need for multiple stages of refining, which reduces the energy required to heat the materials. If the technology can be scaled commercially, it offers a potential pathway for heavy industries to meet stricter environmental regulations without abandoning steel production entirely.
Manufacturing facilities often face difficult trade-offs when trying to reduce their carbon footprint. Energy-intensive processes like steelmaking can be expensive to retrofit, and switching to greener alternatives sometimes results in higher costs that make the product less competitive in global markets. The ability to cut emissions by 50% while lowering production costs would address both the environmental and economic pressures facing the industry.
The challenge of scaling
Meroueh’s company, Hertha Metals, is still in the development phase. The furnace technology has been tested in a laboratory setting, but the next step involves building a pilot plant to prove that the process works reliably at an industrial scale. Scaling up introduces new variables, such as the durability of materials under continuous operation and the logistics of supplying natural gas to a large facility.
Steelmakers around the world are under pressure to decarbonize as governments implement stricter climate policies. Some have invested in electric arc furnaces, which use electricity rather than chemical reactions to melt scrap metal. Others are exploring hydrogen as a reducing agent to replace coal. Meroueh’s method represents a different approach, using natural gas and a streamlined chemical process to achieve similar emissions reductions.
The success of Hertha Metals could influence how other heavy industries approach decarbonization. If the technology proves viable, it may be adapted for other processes that rely on high-temperature chemical reactions, such as cement production or glass manufacturing. The company’s progress will be watched closely by industry analysts and policymakers alike as they seek scalable solutions to climate change.
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