Element Zero has secured up to $26 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to scale its Australian-developed green iron technology and demonstrate production at progressively larger pilot scale in Western Australia.
The funding will support Element Zero’s $53.65 million Green Iron Electroreduction Demonstration Module project under the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund.
The company is developing an electrochemical process designed to convert Australian iron ore into high-purity metallic iron using renewable electricity, offering an alternative to conventional carbon-intensive ironmaking.
Scaling towards commercial production
Element Zero currently operates a continuous plant in Perth capable of producing 10 kilograms of high-purity iron per day.
Under the ARENA-backed program, production will initially scale to 1 tonne per day, with a potential second stage targeting 10 tonnes per day, subject to a formal stage-gate review and ARENA approval.
The project will generate operating data, validate technical performance and help establish a repeatable modular design that could ultimately underpin commercial-scale green iron plants in the Pilbara.
Element Zero CEO Michael Masterman said Australia had an opportunity to capture substantially more value from its iron ore resources by processing them domestically.
“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.”
Pilbara offers long-term opportunity
Element Zero’s technology is being developed to process a range of Australian iron ores, including haematite, which accounts for much of the country’s iron ore exports.
The company ultimately plans to deploy multiple production modules in the Pilbara, taking advantage of the region’s existing iron ore industry, infrastructure and renewable energy potential.
Acting ARENA CEO Chris Faris said the project could help establish whether Element Zero’s technology has a role in Australia’s future 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.”
Masterman said the Pilbara provided a strong foundation for future large-scale deployment.
“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.”
About Element Zero
Element Zero is a Western Australian technology company developing an electrochemical process to produce high-purity iron from iron ore using renewable electricity.
Its development program is progressing through increasingly larger demonstration plants, with the longer-term objective of establishing modular commercial-scale green iron production in the Pilbara.