Destination Innovation: How Greenhouse is Supporting Australia’s Green Iron Transition

Greenhouse’s 2025 GreenIron Summit Series brought together founders, industry leaders, investors, policy makers, and researchers to tackle one of Australia’s most significant industrial decarbonisation opportunities. Spanning Perth, Gladstone, and Adelaide in July and August 2025, the summits explored practical measures to accelerate Australia’s green iron sector and position the nation as a global leader in low-emission metals, with the goal of achieving Final Investment Decision (FID) for at least one project by 2027.

What is Green Iron?

Green iron refers to low-carbon iron production using renewable energy and hydrogen instead of coal, drastically reducing emissions compared with traditional steelmaking. Australia’s position as the largest global iron ore exporter (54.5% in 2024), coupled with abundant renewable energy resources, gives the country an unparalleled opportunity to produce high-grade, low-carbon iron.

The summits brought together a coalition of research institutes, investors, corporate partners, industry leaders, and policymakers, all collaborating to unlock Australia’s green iron potential. Greenhouse thanks the World Economic Forum, CyanVentures, Mission Possible Partnership, Bivios, Beyond Zero Emissions, and others for co-designing and delivering these events.

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"Green iron is so much more than a low-carbon product. It’s a strategic opportunity. When approached correctly, it enables APAC to provide sustainable solutions to the world’s most complex challenges, simultaneously creating jobs, reducing emissions, and boosting export revenue." Harry Guinness, Greenhouse Chief Partnerships Officer

Australia’s Golden Opportunity

Global competition in low-emission iron production is intense. Nations with abundant solar energy, proximity to iron ore, and access to international markets are poised to succeed. If Australia is successful, our green iron industry could be worth up to $400b per year in exports by 2060, according to a recent The SuperpowerInstitute report. By displacing conventional (dirty) ironmaking, these exports would contribute to reducing the 9% of global emissions that come from the sector today. This net-benefit for the global environment is the characteristic that underpins visions of Australia as a ‘renewable energy superpower’.

In stark contrast to this positive vision of what is possible, without decisive intervention undercurrent market conditions, no commercial green iron production is expected by 2030. This is critical as if Australia fails to establish ourselves as a first-mover we may miss this once-in-a-generation opportunity as global competition in this emerging industry is already fierce. The summits scrutinised what measures are needed to ensure the opportunity is not missed and that we enable leading Australian green iron proponents to reach Final Investment Decision in the coming years.

In this context, some of the key summit insights included the following:

Highlights from the Summits

Perth (WA) – Supply-Side Readiness &Infrastructure Coordination
The Perth summit focused on regional infrastructure and supply-side readiness, highlighting the importance of common-user infrastructure, low-cost renewable energy, hydrogen storage, and flexible port facilities. Participants noted the bankability gap, emphasising that industry alone cannot overcome the initial capital hurdle for first-of-a-kind projects. The critical role of government intervention in helping stand-up first-of-a-kind projects was stressed with the range of preferred options scrutinised. A summary of these preferences was then showcased at the following two summits (outline below).

To ensure projects progressed to FID as quickly as possible, solutions included precinct-based planning and coordinated government support to reduce duplication and costs.

International integration was a key theme. WA’s green iron sector must embed itself in Asian decarbonisation strategies while protecting domestic interests. Proposed mechanisms included Asia-focused buyer platforms, book-and-claim systems, and use of the Green Iron Investment Fund(GIIF) with conditional milestones, emissions thresholds, and community benefit-sharing frameworks.

Gladstone (QLD) – Community, Planning &Delivery
Gladstone leverages heavy manufacturing heritage, deepwater ports, and renewable energy potential. Summit discussions emphasised regional competitiveness, including early deployment of credible certification systems for global buyers. A Regional Transition Authority was proposed to coordinate infrastructure, workforce development, and industry partnerships. Workforce solutions focused on TAFE programs, apprenticeships, and targeted migration to address engineering, construction, and technical skill shortages. Community benefits such as industry-linked levies funding housing, education, and health were also prioritised.

Adelaide (SA) – Demand, Offtake &International Connectivity
The Adelaide summit, delivered with the World Economic Forum’s First MoversCoalition, addressed demand-side considerations and proof-of-concept pathways.Buyers in construction, automotive, and consumer goods expressed willingness to pay a green premium contingent on globally recognised certification. Government-backed off-take agreements, book-and-claim systems, and environmental attribute certificates (EACs) were proposed to de-risk early-stage investments. Strategic trade corridors to Asia and Europe, supported by multi-fuel port infrastructure, were highlighted alongside proof-of-concept facilities for multiple proponents to validate processes before committing billions in capital expenditure.

Key Themes Across the Summit Series

Australia’s green iron ambitions are ambitious: 5 Mtpa by 2030, expanding to 12 Mtpa by 2035, and scaling to over 100 Mtpa by 2050, potentially requiring 40–100 plants nationwide. Meeting this ambition requires overcoming significant technical and financial challenges. The summit identified a $1–1.5 billion bankability gap per first-mover project, with modelling indicating a A$285/t cost premium over conventional HBI(a roughly 50% cost premium).

Access to flexible, reliable, and affordable infrastructure—including electricity transmission, hydrogen storage, water, transport networks, and industrial precincts—is critical to reduce production costs. In the near term, projects will need government support in the form of production tax credits, contracts-for-difference (CFDs) or capital grants which can work alongside market mechanisms like buyer platforms, and book-and-claim systems to cover the initial green premium. These mechanisms will then need to be combined with  strategic financing mechanisms, such as concessional capital, government guarantees and foreign investment to bring projects to FID. Social licence and community engagement are equally important, with open engagement, local hiring, and transparent partnerships enabling sustainable development.Coordinated federal, state, and local action across planning, approvals, infrastructure, and delivery is essential to scale the sector effectively.

Government and Policy Imperatives

Summit discussions underscored that realising Australia’s green iron potential requires strategic ‘green energy statecraft’, as championed by Elizabeth Thurbon and Oliver Yates: a deliberate, coordinated approach that aligns industrial policy, energy planning, trade diplomacy, and climate action. This goes beyond conventional intervention; it positions green iron as a national and regional lever for economic transformation, export leadership, and industrial decarbonisation. Embedding green energy exports in bilateral and multilateral trade and security agreements would bridge missions and energy security benefits to our key partner countries like Germany, Japan and South Korea, strengthening Australia’s position in regional and global negotiations.    

Beyond individual projects, the role of governments is essential. Participants advocated for a precinct-based, multi-jurisdictional policy framework that can unlock efficiencies, prevent bottlenecks, and enable multiple first-of-a-kind plants to reach FID simultaneously.

The summits were attended by senior leaders from various state and federal government agencies. Since these discussions, the Federal Government has announced its 2035 Emissions Target and released anIndustry Sector Plan, including the promotion of green iron industry and role of several funding initiatives, not in the least the Government’s $1b Green Iron Investment Fund and CSIRO’s Green Metals Innovation Network.

Beyond existing initiatives, by embedding green iron within broader trade, climate, and industrial strategies, government can catalyse not just individual projects but an entire ecosystem of low-emission metals, securing Australia’s competitive advantage in APAC, attracting foreign investment, and demonstrating global climate leadership. In essence, green energy statecraft transforms policy from a reactive support tool into a strategic instrument for national prosperity and decarbonisation leadership.

Next Steps and Greenhouse’s Role

Greenhouse is moving from dialogue to systems change, convening stakeholders to deliver practical solutions across finance, infrastructure, market creation, and workforce development. Key initiatives include:

●      Q3 2025: Launch of the two-year Capital Deployment Initiative targeting blended finance solutions and catalytic capital.

●      Q4 2025: Summit series and research on blended finance and catalytic capital, consolidating industry-government dialogue and demand aggregation insights.

●      March 2026: Convening at Climate Action Week Sydney and theInnovation and Investment Summit ahead of COP31 to strengthen collaboration, showcase progress, and align market and policy priorities.

These activities are designed to support both the innovation needed to bring this nascent industry down the cost curve as well as the collaboration with trading partners and private sources of demand for green iron that will be needed to make this a success.

Charlotte Connell, Director of Innovation and Investment at Greenhouse, notes:
"We are focused on developing partnerships, mobilising climate capital, and advancing projects that will position Australia and APAC as global leaders in green iron."

The Green Iron SummitSeries demonstrates that collaboration, finance, policy alignment, and strategic planning are essential to realiseAustralia’s green iron potential. Stakeholders across the value chain are invited to engage, helping Australia seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead in sustainable industrial transformation.