Fortescue is laying the groundwork for a major green iron plant in the Pilbara backed by hydrogen to be produced by as much as 6 gigawatts of renewable energy.
The Andrew Forrest-helmed miner in April revealed plans for the $950 million Pilbara Green Energy Project east of Port Hedland.
Business News understands that announcement was the tip of the iceberg.
Fortescue is understood to be planning major transmission infrastructure and hydrogen pipelines running between the hub and the Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area, where the miner was granted a site by the state government in 2023.
That SIA has been set aside by the state government for green energy and downstream resource production.
Other proponents include iron ore processor Port Hedland Iron and British critical minerals processor Alkemy Capital.
Business News has been told by sources close to the precinct that Fortescue has plans to expand its 200-megawatt Pilbara Green Energy Project plant to as much as 6GW.
The miner has applied for 30,000 hectares of tenements in the East Pilbara to house the project.
That would be larger than the total energy capacity the miner has publicly announced to date and would give Fortescue the juice needed to take large amounts of the 200 million tonnes of iron ore it produces each year further down the supply chain.
For comparison, the 7-million-tonne-per-annum Mid West Green Iron proposal by Progressive Green Solutions is planning 2.6GW of renewable energy generation and 500MW of battery storage.
Phase two of that plant would produce up to 30Mtpa of green iron pellets for processing into 7.5Mtpa of hot-briquetted iron.
What form of processing Fortescue’s potential green iron plant takes remains to be seen.
The miner’s pilot plant at Christmas Creek will convert iron ore into direct reduced iron, also known as sponge iron, which does not require further refining prior to being used for steel.
That plant is due to produce its first green iron by the middle of the year.
Fortescue did not deny it was planning to build up to 6GW of power generation at its Pilbara Green Energy Hub to power a green iron plant at Boodarie when asked directly by Business News.
“Green iron is a critical long-term priority for Fortescue and for the future of the Pilbara,” the miner said.
“We remain committed to progressing a future commercial-scale plant, which is expected to require large-scale renewable generation.”
