The Malinauskas Labor Government will officially begin its search for partners to kickstart South Australia’s Green Iron and Steel industry, cementing the state’s position as a green iron powerhouse.
The Premier today announced that an expressions of interest (EoI) process would commence in June, seeking involvement from businesses to jointly investigate the development of a hydrogen-based Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) plant in South Australia.
The commercial de-risking study will be a crucial first step in using our natural endowment of quality iron ore to provide green iron to the world.
Findings will help determine the specialised industrial precincts and supporting infrastructure required to de-risk investment in green iron and steel in South Australia.
It will also guide the government’s support and participation in partnerships, both with industry and the Commonwealth, to attract investment into the sector.
The Government aims to establish the DRI plant in South Australia before the end of the decade.
DRI plants provide an alternative to using coal fired furnaces to convert iron ore to steel using renewable sources, such as hydrogen, to reduce emissions from the process by 95 per cent.
The output of DRI, hot briquetted iron (HBI), also has significant advantages in the steelmaking process. These include higher iron content, lower impurities, and improved process efficiency, compared with using traditional iron ore in producing steel.
South Australia is well placed to take advantage of the green steel opportunity, through its unrivalled access to magnetite (the type of iron ore used in DRI technology) and its leadership in establishing an advanced hydrogen industry (the type of fuel used in DRI technology).
The announcement will form a key part of the Government’s Green Iron and Steel Strategy – part of the State Prosperity Project — which will be released in the coming months.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
The world needs steel, and as it seeks to decarbonise, it will increasingly need green iron and steel.
To that end we have what the world wants and needs.
We have the key ingredients for a DRI plant in the Upper Spencer Gulf – an unrivalled resource of magnetite, and soon, a supply of renewable hydrogen, produced using our spectacular wind and solar resources.
This is our moment – an opportunity to build a new industry, to deliver exactly what the world needs, growing jobs and prosperity in our state.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
South Australia has an incredible opportunity before it to grow the state’s wealth on the back of a green re-industrialisation, featuring critical minerals like copper, and green iron and steel.
But it won’t just happen. We are not resting on our laurels.
We are actively looking to partner with industry to make sure South Australia is the best place for investors to do business.
