Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), the 100% renewable green energy and industry initiative of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd, says it has reached its June 30, 2021 targets for initial decarbonisation projects, with headway made on its hydrogen, ammonia and battery power projects.

FFI CEO, Julie Shuttleworth, said the company set out to test the hypothesis that there was sufficient 100% renewable green energy, hydrogen, ammonia and industrial manufacturing potential, for products such as green cement, green fertiliser, green iron and steel, “to fully satisfy the world’s needs”.

“To demonstrate this within Fortescue, we set ambitious decarbonisation targets for our own heavy industry,” she said. “These are being driven by FFI’s Green Team, who are aiming to eliminate carbon emissions from our own operations. This work commenced in earnest only several months ago and the results have been immense.”

FFI’s Green Team has established a facility at Hazelmere in Perth, Western Australia, where it has been managing and trialling technology on hydrogen, ammonia and battery power for trains, ship engines, haul trucks and drill rigs for technology demonstration.

The “ground-breaking progress” to date includes:

• Successful combustion of ammonia in a locomotive fuel, with a pathway to achieve completely renewable green fuel;
• Completion of design and construction of a combustion testing device for large marine (ship) engines, with pilot test work underway and a pathway to achieve completely renewable green shipping fuel;
• Finalised design of a next generation ore carrier (ship) that will consume renewable green ammonia, with the Classification Society giving in principle design approval;
• Testing of battery cells to be used on Fortescue haul trucks – a project it is pursuing with Williams Advanced Engineering;
• Design and construction of a hydrogen-powered haul truck for technology demonstration complete, with systems testing underway;
• Design and construction of a hydrogen powered drill rig for technology demonstration complete, with systems testing underway;
• Successful production of high purity (>97%) green iron from Fortescue ores at low temperature in a continuous flow process; and
• Successful initial trialling to use waste from the green iron process noted above, with other easily sourced materials, to make green cement.

Back in March, Fortescue said it would accelerate its carbon neutrality efforts, now expecting to achieve this ‘green’ milestone by 2030, 10 years earlier than its previous target.

Fortescue CEO, Elizabeth Gaines said the company was using its large industrial platform of operating mine sites in the Pilbara to trial and demonstrate technologies in completely renewable green hydrogen, green ammonia and green electricity.

She added: “All of us at Fortescue are committed to its decarbonisation. Our great progress to date and our ongoing projects underpin Fortescue’s plan to become a major renewable energy and industry product exporter. As part of this plan, we are aiming to meet or beat our internal global industry-leading target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.”