An interdisciplinary UNLV team — backed by a $2.1 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy — is innovating a unique, clean energy solution to replace blast furnace technology, a centuries-old steel production method that has long powered the iron and steel industry. Over the next three years, the team will pioneer a technology that can “scale up and compete” with the industry-standard blast furnace method, ultimately lowering the industry's carbon footprint.