Element Zero Secures Up to A$26 Million from Australian Government to Scale Green Iron Technology

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 2, the Australian Government confirmed it will provide up to A$26 million to Perth-based company Element Zero through the "Australian Made Future Innovation Fund," managed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), to advance a demonstration module project for green iron electro-reduction with a total investment of approximately A$53.6 million. The project will validate a technology pathway that uses renewable electricity to drive an electrochemical process, directly converting Australian iron ore into high-purity iron.

Element Zero currently operates a continuous production unit in Perth, producing approximately 10 kilograms of high-purity iron per day. The project plans a two-stage scale-up: the first stage involves building a demonstration unit with a capacity of approximately 1 tonne of iron per day; the second stage, following a formal stage review and ARENA approval, will further expand capacity to 10 tonnes per day. The project will collect process data through continuous operation and validate the design basis for subsequent modular scale-up.

The project adopts an electrochemical ironmaking route, using electricity and a molten salt system to reduce iron ore, with a designed operating temperature of approximately 400 to 450 degrees Celsius. The demonstration phase will test various Australian iron ores, including hematite and magnetite, to verify adaptability to different ore feedstocks. The Australian Government also clarified that this project is currently at the pilot and demonstration scale-up stage and does not equate to the establishment of commercial green iron production capacity.

Element Zero plans to continue scaling the technology in replicable modules after the demonstration is completed, with Western Australia's Pilbara region identified as a key area for future commercial deployment. The company's existing plans include building the Pilbara Iron Super Hub near Port Hedland, with a long-term proposal to process approximately 5 million tonnes of iron ore per year, further expanding to 20 million tonnes per year; however, these plans remain future commercial development targets.