America's new field of competition with China / America's advanced magnets need iron with a purity of 99.95%

To reduce dependence on China, Washington made the production of ultra-pure iron a strategic priority. The post New field of US competition with China / Advanced US magnets need iron with 99.95% purity appeared first on Safir Arjan.

According to Ambassador Arjan, America needs a material that is less in the focus of attention of the steel industry to make advanced magnets used in electric cars, wind turbines and military equipment. Iron with 99.95% purity.

The American company Hertha Metals (Hertha Metals) announced in August 2026 that it has achieved this level of purity by using domestic raw materials; An achievement that could target one of the missing links in America's advanced magnet supply chain. Now this company is developing the commercial capacity of producing this product in Texas; A market where most of the supply is provided by China.

Iron becomes more important than ordinary steel

In the supply chain of advanced technologies, attention is usually focused on rare earth elements such as neodymium and praseodymium; Elements that are essential to produce powerful permanent magnets. However, iron is also one of the main components of these products.

Neodymium, iron and boron (NdFeB) magnets are used in electric vehicle engines, wind turbine generators, electronic equipment and defense systems. Iron makes up about 70% of the weight of these magnets and its quality affects the performance of the final product. For this reason, the use of ordinary iron, whose chemical characteristics are not controlled for such applications, does not necessarily meet the needs of manufacturers.

In the production of this type of iron, the problem is not only the high percentage of iron; Controlling impurities such as carbon, oxygen, sulfur, phosphorus and other elements is also important. The presence of these impurities can affect the magnetic properties, structure and durability of the final magnet.

Purity of 99.95%, which is known as 3N5 purity, means that the share of iron in the product reaches 99.95%, and the total of other materials is at most 0.05%. Of course, reaching this number alone does not guarantee product approval for all applications; Magnet manufacturers may also set specific limits for each impurity element.

New technology to cross the China bottleneck

Founded in 2022, Herta Metals is trying to reduce part of America's dependence on imports of strategic raw materials by developing a different way to produce iron and steel.

The company has announced that it has succeeded in producing iron with a purity of 99.95 percent at its test facility in Conroe, Texas. The important point of this achievement is to achieve the quality required by the magnet industry using American raw materials and industrial equipment on a demonstration scale.

In the conventional method, the production of ultrapure iron usually requires additional purification steps. But Herta Metals' technology relies on a single-step process and melt chemistry control, which enables the production of iron or steel in one system.

This company claims that its technology can reduce the cost of production by more than 20% and the emission of pollutants by about 50% compared to the traditional path of coal-based steel production. Realizing these benefits on a commercial scale will depend on actual plant performance, energy costs, raw material quality, and production stability.

Why is the Pentagon involved?

The importance of this project is beyond an innovation in the iron and steel industry. In recent years, America has tried to reduce the dependence of its defense and technology industries on supply chains dominated by China.

According to reports published in October 2026, Hertha Metals has managed to attract $133.65 million in capital for the development of its commercial plant, named "Hertha Chalyx". This financial package includes 65 million dollars investment from the US Department of Defense.

The targeted capacity of this factory will be about 10,000 tons per year of ultra-pure iron and steel. The project is being developed in Conroe, Texas, next to the company's pilot facility, and production of ultrapure iron suitable for magnets is planned for 2028.

This investment shows that American industrial policy is not only focused on the extraction of mineral elements; Moreover, creating processing capacity and converting raw materials into specialized products has also become increasingly important.

In fact, having mineral resources or even access to rare earth elements, without the ability to produce intermediate materials with the quality required by advanced industries, does not guarantee the independence of the supply chain.

Can America get out of dependence on China?

Estimates published in industry reports show that about 90 to 94 percent of the ultrapure iron used in the production of these types of magnets is produced in China. This high share means that even if the U.S. is able to supply the minerals and rare earth elements it needs, it may still depend on imports of specialized iron for the magnet production stage.

However, Herta Metals' achievement of 99.95% purity should not be equated to a complete solution to America's problem. Successful production in the pilot unit is the first step; Sustainably and economically sourcing raw materials on an industrial scale, obtaining approval from magnet manufacturers, and meeting growing demand will be more difficult next steps.

The targeted capacity of 10,000 tons per year should also be evaluated in the same context: this amount can help create a domestic resource, but alone does not represent complete import substitution.

In conclusion, the global competition for advanced magnets has revealed the importance of raw materials that until recently received less attention compared to rare earth elements. Ultra-pure iron has now become one of the important links of American industrial security; A loop whose successful development could affect the electric vehicle, wind energy and defense equipment industries.