Iron ore, oil and steel giants line up to develop $70bn of green industrial projects in Pilbara

The companies of billionaire iron-ore magnate Andrew Forrest and giants of the global steel and oil sectors are among the companies allocated government land in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, to develop green industrial projects worth an estimated $70 billion.

Western Australia’s Labor McGowan government announced the land allocation late last week, for seven projects in the Boodarie and Ashburton North Strategic Industrial Areas (SIAs), established to help transform the Pilbara into a green industry hub.

The WA government says the two projects to get a foothold in the Ashburton North SIA, located 12km south of Onslow and traditionally linked to gas processing, will focus on production of green ammonia and methanol.

The five projects allocated land in the Boodarie SIA, located about 12km south of Port Hedland, will support production of green iron ore, ammonia, hydrogen, and lithium sulphate monohydrate.

The government says the proposed capital expenditure of the seven companies approved for land allocation approval is collectively valued at $70 billion.

Behind the big dollars are some equally big names with big green plans, including Forrest’s green hydrogen vehicle Fortescue Future Industries, Korean steel giant Posco, Hong Kong-owned Australian utility Alinta Energy and global oil giant BP.

Not much detail was offered on each of the specific projects, but in a statement the government said the land allocation approval was an important step in transforming the two SIAs into globally competitive industrial precincts and to support the diversification of WA’s economy.

Forrest, whose Fortescue Metals Group was allocated land in the Boodarie SIA on top of FFI’s allocation in the Ashburton SIA, has announced plans to build 5.4GW of wind and solar in the Pilbara, along with battery storage, to satisfy the green hydrogen needs of its iron ore operations.

And the plans certainly don’t stop there – Forrest has also declared a target of producing 15 million tonnes a year of green hydrogen by 2030, an effort that would likely require some 200GW of wind and solar and other renewable sources.

And while Forrest provides the hyped up vision and at least some of the tens of billions of dollars needed to bankroll projects like these, others are more pragmatic.

“Collaboration would help,” offered FFI’s head of “western states,” Maia Schweizer, in May of last year.

“The growth of green industry contains enough opportunity for all of us — what if we collaborated, shared infrastructure costs, and together made Australia competitive?

“What if we had one vision of a green Pilbara, implemented by several to the benefit of all? This may never have happened before, and it won’t be easy, but the rationale has also never been more compelling.”

This appears to be the core premise behind the Pilbara SIAs, and the heft of the industrial giants lining up to develop projects there bodes well for the advancement of collective ambition.

“Strategic Industrial Areas are a key attractor for Western Australia as they ensure new investment continues to support our emerging and growing renewable energy industries,” said state lands minister John Carey.

“This is a major boost for regional WA, in particular towns like Onslow, South Hedland and Port Hedland with these projects to create and support a number of local jobs while strengthening and diversifying the WA economy,” Carey said.

“The approval of land allocations for the Boodarie and Ashburton North SIAs will help transform these sites into globally competitive, multi-product industrial precincts,” added state development, jobs and trade minister Roger Cook.

“The projects across the two SIAs will deliver a range of projects including ammonia, green iron ore, and hydrogen.

“From job creation to growing the local advanced manufacturing industry and servicing international markets, we will see the economic benefits of these land allocations and these projects flow through the WA economy over time.”

Proponents allocated land in the Ashburton SIA are:
– Equus Energy (a subsidiary of Western Gas Corporation)
– Fortescue Future Industries

Proponents allocated land in the Boodarie SIA are:
– POSCO
– Fortescue Metals Group Ltd
– Alinta Energy
– Tees Valley Lithium
– BP