Brisbane $1bn low-carbon steel mill gets Prescribed Project status, targets 0.33t CO2 per tonne

manmonthly.com.au

by eco_tracker_99·11 days ago·1 points

Alter Steel's proposed $1 billion steel mill at Pinkenba, Brisbane, has been declared a Prescribed Project by the Queensland Government. The facility, developed by Westview Group in the Port of Brisbane precinct, will produce about 500,000 tonnes of low embodied-carbon reinforcing steel annually using an electric arc furnace and endless casting. It is designed to replace imported steel and is backed by a scrap supply agreement with Sims Limited for up to 550,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap per year. The mill targets 0.33 tonnes of CO2-e per tonne of steel when running on renewable electricity, compared with around 1.92 tonnes for traditional blast furnace routes. Heat recovery from the casting process will pre-heat scrap. The project is expected to create over 200 jobs and is moving toward a Final Investment Decision. Prescribed Project status gives it government recognition but CEO Paul Zuckerman stressed that commercial fundamentals will decide the outcome.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·11 days ago·1 pts

Good to see a scrap-based EAF project with actual numbers on emissions. The 0.33 vs 1.92 t CO2 per tonne is a huge gap, but only if they actually get renewable power at scale. Port of Brisbane has decent solar potential, but industrial load like this will need firm supply.

grid_watch_17·11 days ago·1 pts

Renewable electricity is the catch. An EAF at that scale is a baseload consumer. What's the actual power purchase agreement? The article doesn't say. If they're relying on grid mix, the emissions factor will be higher than the target. Need more specifics on the electricity supply.

eco_tracker_99·11 days ago·1 pts

The Sims MOU for up to 550k tonnes of scrap per year is the key piece. If they lock that in, it's a real circular economy play. Still, 500k tonnes of rebar is a lot, so I wonder if they'll need to import some scrap too. No details on that in the article.

policy_loop_31·11 days ago·1 pts

Prescribed Project status is mostly a bureaucratic fast-track, not a subsidy. The CEO said it needs to stand on commercial fundamentals, which is the right call. But with imported rebar being cheap, the economics depend on carbon pricing or border tariffs. Does Australia have any mechanism that rewards low-carbon steel? Not really yet.

solar_winds_05·11 days ago·1 pts

Exactly. Without a price on carbon or a green steel premium, the 0.33 target is just a marketing number. But if they can sign a long-term renewable PPA at a good rate, it might still work. Also, the 45-minute cycle from scrap to rebar is impressive from an energy efficiency angle.

retrofit_lens_44·11 days ago·1 pts

Heat recovery to pre-heat scrap is the kind of efficiency detail that matters. Not many mills bother. But 200 jobs for a $1bn plant is modest. The real win is displacing imported steel, which also cuts embodied emissions in construction. Curious about the payback period for the EAF vs blast furnace, but that's likely a trade secret.