#100 - Driss Laraqui - Fenix Energy - Using Iron as a Fuel to Replace Natural Gas

#100 - Driss Laraqui - Fenix Energy - Using Iron as a Fuel to Replace Natural Gas

From New Wave. by Hugo Rauch

July 6, 2026 · 50 min · Episode 100

About this episode

Driss Laraqui discusses how Fenix Energy is using iron powder as a rechargeable fuel to replace natural gas in industrial applications.

Subscribe to the newsletter: New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack **** Supported by: Leonard : The innovation and foresight platform of the VINCI Group, to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing VINCI’s businesses: the digital revolution, the accelerating pace of innovation, and the environmental transition. **** 🌊 Can Iron Replace Natural Gas? How a rechargeable metal fuel could reshape high-temperature industrial heat, and Europe’s energy sovereignty. We’re joined by Driss Laraqui , CEO and co-founder of Fenix Energy , a deeptech founder turning iron powder into a circular fuel for industrial heat. The premise sounds almost like science fiction: burn iron powder, capture the iron oxide, recharge it with electricity, and use it again. But for Driss, this is not a lab experiment. Fenix is building industrial boilers designed to generate high-temperature heat — up to roughly 900°C, for sectors that remain heavily dependent on natural gas and difficult to electrify. In this episode, we dive into one of climate tech’s hardest problems: how to decarbonize industrial heat without asking every factory to rely on constant access to cheap electricity and massive grid connections. And…

People in this episode

Host: Hugo Rauch

Guest: Driss Laraqui

Topics covered

Keywords

Sponsors

VINCI Group

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fenix Energy

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