# Steven Jepeal

> Steven Jepeal is the co-founder and CEO of Allium Engineering, a Massachusetts deeptech startup making bridges last 100 years instead of 30. An MIT nuclear-engineering PhD who once worked on fusion reactor materials, Jepeal pivoted from the physics of plasma to the unglamorous economics of rebar, inventing a way to clad ordinary steel reinforcing bar in a thin layer of stainless so it stops rusting. The trick: the process slots into existing steel mills without changing how they operate. Allium's clad rebar is already in bridges in California and Florida, and Jepeal was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Manufacturing & Industry.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Allium Engineering
- **Organizations:** Allium Engineering, MIT, Activate, Greentown Labs
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** PhD, Nuclear Science and Engineering (advisor: Prof. Zach Hartwig), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Forbes 30 Under 30, Manufacturing & Industry, Activate Fellow (Boston 2023 cohort), PhD, MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering

## Career timeline

- **2021** — Completed PhD in Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT, working on fusion-relevant materials
- **2022** — Co-founded Allium Engineering with Sam McAlpine to commercialize stainless-clad rebar
- **2023** — Selected for the Activate Fellowship (Boston 2023 cohort)
- **2024** — Allium closed a $3.25M round; Billerica, MA facility began commercial production of clad rebar
- **2024** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 (Manufacturing & Industry) alongside co-founder Sam McAlpine
- **2025** — Allium's clad rebar deployed in bridge projects in California (Caltrans) and Florida; ~100,000 lbs used

## Achievements

- Forbes 30 Under 30, Manufacturing & Industry
- Activate Fellow (Boston 2023 cohort)
- PhD, MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering
- Co-founded Allium Engineering and brought stainless-clad rebar to commercial production
- Clad rebar debuted on a Caltrans bridge project

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — MIT News profiled Allium Engineering; clad rebar deployed in California and Florida bridges, ~1,000 tons annual production capacity.

## Links

- Website: https://www.alliumeng.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjepeal/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/steven-jepeal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-03