Element Zero Secures Up to $26M from ARENA for Green Iron
ARENA funding will help Element Zero demonstrate its Australian-developed electrochemical ironmaking technology at progressively larger pilot scale in WA
Australia could move one step closer to becoming a green iron superpower, with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) awarding Element Zero up to $26 million towards its $53.65 million Green Iron Electroreduction Demonstration Module project through the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund.
Australia has built one of the world’s great export industries around iron ore. Element Zero believes the next opportunity is to use Australia’s abundant renewable energy resources to process more of that iron ore at home and export higher-value metallic iron.
Element Zero currently operates a 10 kg per day continuous high-purity iron plant using renewable energy at its technology facilities in Perth. The ARENA-supported project will initially scale the technology to 1 tonne of high-purity metallic iron per day, with a potential second stage scaling it to 10 tonnes per day, subject to a formal Stage Gate Review and ARENA approval.
Importantly, the project is intended to generate operating data, validate technical performance, and inform the potential design of repeatable modules for future commercial scale high-purity iron plants. The company’s longer-term strategy is to deploy multiple modules at commercial scale in Western Australia’s Pilbara, close to the source of Australia’s iron ore and abundant renewable energy resources.
Element Zero Chief Executive Officer Michael Masterman said the funding represented an important step towards building a new Australian green iron industry.
“Australia has spent decades building a world-leading iron ore industry. The opportunity now is to capture the 5-6 times the export value by converting iron ore to high-purity iron.”
“Our goal is to combine Australian iron ore, renewable electricity and Australian-developed technology to produce green iron in Australia, rather than exporting our iron ore and leaving the value-adding to happen overseas.”
“We already have our technology operating continuously in Perth. This project is about taking the next major step — scaling first to one tonne per day and then 10 tonnes per day, while establishing the modular plant design that we ultimately intend to deploy at commercial scale in the Pilbara.”
“ARENA’s support will enable us to test the technology at a larger scale and generate the evidence needed to assess its potential.”
Element Zero’s electrochemical technology is being developed as an alternative pathway for converting iron ore into high-purity iron without the direct carbon emissions associated with conventional carbon-based ironmaking. Importantly, the technology is being developed for use with a range of Australian iron ores, including haematite ore, which makes up the bulk of Australia’s export market.
The company has progressively developed the technology in Western Australia from laboratory batch processing to its current continuous plant operation.
Acting ARENA CEO Chris Faris said:
“Australia has a significant opportunity to use our renewable energy and iron ore resources to build a globally competitive green iron industry.
“ARENA’s funding will support Element Zero to test its Australian-developed electrochemical technology at progressively larger pilot scale, generate operating data and assess its potential using a range of Australian iron ores.
“This project will help build the evidence needed to understand whether the technology could contribute to future green iron production in Australia.”
Masterman said the longer-term opportunity extended well beyond the ARENA-supported project.
“The Pilbara already has the iron ore, the industrial capability and some of the world’s best renewable energy resources. If we can bring those advantages together, Australia has an extraordinary opportunity to build a globally significant green iron industry.”
ENDS
About Element Zero
Element Zero is an Australian technology company developing an electrochemical process to convert iron ore into high-purity iron using renewable electricity.
Based in Western Australia, the company is developing its technology through progressively larger demonstration plants, with the longer-term objective of deploying modular commercial-scale green iron production in the Pilbara.
Read the Australian Government announcement: $26 million boost for cleaner Australian-made iron technology
Media enquiries: Marija Zivic, 0475 514 672, marija@brooklineadvisory.com.au
This Project received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of ARENA’s Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government, and the Australian Government does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein.