The Australian Greens would invest $500 million to establish a green steel manufacturing industry in Australia that the party says will accelerate the shift away from using coal and create new high-value export opportunities.
Announcing the plan from the steelmaking hub of Port Kembla in the Illawarra region, Greens leader Adam Bandt said the party would establish a ‘green metals bank’, modelled off the existing Clean Energy Finance Corporation, to manage direct government investments.
“The $500 million Green Steel Innovation Fund will reduce our dependence on coal, allowing us to stop Liberal and Labor’s 114 new coal and gas projects in the investment pipeline and take the climate action required to keep Australians safe,” Bandt said.
Steel production is a significant consumer of coal, which is used in both the processing of iron ore and the smelting of steel products.
Around 40 per cent of the coal exported by Australia is metallurgical coal, used in metals processing. The Greens see the shift to green steel production as a way of reducing the industry’s use of coal while increasing the amount of Australian iron ore processed locally.
“Australia should be a nation that manufactures things again,” Bandt said.
“We have greater potential than just being the world’s quarry. With almost endless energy available from the sun and wind, we have the capacity to create finished steel, unlocking generations of good jobs and giving us a new export opportunity.”
“The Illawarra knows steel, and we need to make the most of the expertise in this city to build a steel industry powered by sun and wind and fuelled by renewable hydrogen.”
Under the plan, up to $200 million would be directly invested in the Illawarra region, which is already home to a large portion of Australia’s existing steel manufacturing industries – allowing existing operations to be repurposed for zero emissions manufacturing.
Other steel hubs, such as those in the Pilbara in Western Australia and Whyalla in South Australia, would also be in line to benefit from investment through the ‘green steel bank’.
The NSW State government has previously committed $70 million in funding support to establish a hydrogen hub in the Illawarra to provide supplies of zero emissions gas that could replace the use of coal in steelmaking.
Bandt launched the Greens’ plan alongside the party’s New South Wales senate candidate, David Shoebridge, who until recently served as member of the NSW State parliament and is hoping to make the shift into federal parliament.
Shoebridge said it was important for Australia to keep pace with international competitors in the shift to the zero emissions production of products like steel.
“Other nations are already investing in green steel, this is the time for Australia to step up and put Wollongong at the forefront of the global transition to green steel,” Shoebridge said.
“It’s absurd that Australia sells its iron ore overseas just to buy it back in finished form. We have a huge competitive advantage with so much wind and sun, we can drive renewable energy costs close to zero, ensuring that our finished steel is cost-competitive while paying workers good wages.”
On Wednesday, Bandt kicked off the Greens’ election campaign with a speech to the National Press Club.
Bandt labelled the climate crisis as a war and took aim at the major parties, who he said were ‘aiding the enemy’.
“Our enemy is the climate crisis. The enemy is fuelled by coal and gas. Mining and burning coal and gas is killing people. And Liberal and Labor want more,” Bandt told the National Press Club.
“Liberal and Labor haven’t just given up; they are aiding the enemy by backing more coal and gas.”
