- Fortescue breaks ground at US$50 million green iron
plant project
- Plant to produce a high-purity pig iron using
green hydrogen
- Important step towards realising a green iron
industry in Western Australia
Steel
forged using renewable hydrogen is now a step closer at Fortescue's Christmas
Creek iron ore mine, as ground breaks for the historic project.
The
Christmas Creek Green Iron Metal Project is a key step towards developing a
green iron industry in Western Australia and will produce iron using green
hydrogen, which will be suitable for use in almost any steel plant globally.
The
project aims to produce green iron metal by the end of 2025, to prove the
technology and create a catalyst for the next generation of the Australian
green iron industry.
The Christmas Creek
Renewable Hydrogen Mobility Project is also operational, with a hydrogen
refuelling hub located at Fortescue's Green Energy Hub at the Pilbara mine.
The $33.8 million project
- supported by a $2 million grant from the Cook Government's Renewable Hydrogen
Fund - also includes 10 hydrogen fuel-cell coaches.
The hydrogen-powered
coaches replace Fortescue's fleet of diesel coaches for transporting crew at
Christmas Creek, and run on renewable hydrogen produced on-site through
electrolysis.
It is expected the
facility will produce around 195 tonnes of renewable hydrogen each year, as
part of a broader effort to decarbonise Fortescue's mining operations by 2030.
Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:
"WA is on its way to
becoming a global clean energy powerhouse, and a major producer, user and
exporter of green iron.
"Hydrogen has an
important role to play in remote areas like mine sites, helping to create our
State's green iron supply chain, reduce our reliance on diesel and slash
emissions on site.
"Congratulations to
Fortescue on their work to decarbonise their operations, which is showing the
way for the resources industry right around the world."
