The world’s fourth-largest iron ore miner has set a goal of producing 1,500 tonnes of high-purity green steel per year using green electricity from solar farms at its Christmas Creek site in Western Australia.
Mark Hutchinson, the head of the company's green energy division, announced in an analyst call that they plan to start first production by 2025. Hutchinson stated that they will invest 50 million Australian dollars in the project to meet the increasing demand from China.
Hutchinson said that, “In the next 12 months, we will show the world that it is possible to produce green steel metal from iron ore from the Pilbara region, using hydrogen as a reducing agent derived from solar and, later, wind energy sources,”
It is estimated that steel production from renewable energy sources will not become commercially viable until late in the next decade. Current production methods require iron ore of higher purity than the hematite ore typically found in Australia, meaning that nearly half of the world’s raw material supply is delivered by sea.
In the long term, there is not enough high-quality iron ore available worldwide to decarbonize the global steel industry.
Fortescue emphasized that low to medium grade iron ores need to be processed worldwide. The company said it is evaluating Australia's leading position in this area and opportunities to develop a green steel metal industry.
In the long term, the company plans to convert iron ore into green steel metal. This is a conversion process that envisages around 100 million tonnes or slightly more of its current hematite operations. In addition, the Fortescue official from Otranto said, this conversion will require additional rail capacity to transport high-grade magnetite iron ore.
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