Western Australia has approved POSCO’s plan to build an HBI plant

The Western Australian state government has approved a proposal by South Korean firm POSCO Holdings to build a plant for the production of low-carbon hot-briquetted iron (HBI) at the Port Hedland export hub, Bloomberg reports.

The project is valued at 4.3 billion Australian dollars ($3 billion) and, once completed, will have an annual production capacity of 2 million metric tons.

The plant, which will use gas and possibly hydrogen in the production process to reduce emissions, will be built subject to approval by the joint venture partners. According to POSCO, this will be one of the first such projects in Australia.

Australia is the world’s largest iron ore producer, but mining companies and metal processing enterprises are facing increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint. The country has committed to reducing its emissions by 70% by 2035 compared to 2005 levels.

The Port Hedland Iron project (formerly known as the Port Hedland Green Steel Project) is being jointly developed by POSCO, Japan’s Marubeni, and Taiwan’s China Steel Corporation, with POSCO serving as the lead partner and project leader.

As a reminder, South Korean authorities recently finalized approval of the site for POSCO’s project to build a hydrogen-based steel complex in Pohang. Specifically, the project involves launching a HyREX pilot plant with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year by 2028.