澳大利亚联邦政府批准浦项控股Port Hedland低碳铁矿石加工厂项目，但最终投资决定仍待合作伙伴批准、2031年才投产

The Australian government has approved steelmaker Posco Holdings Inc.’s plans to develop a low-emissions iron ore processing plant at a major export hub.

The project at Port Hedland in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is estimated to cost about A$4.4 billion ($3 billion), according to the state government, which approved it in April. Its annual capacity is planned at about 2 million tons of iron.

Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of iron ore but has little domestic processing capacity to produce the element, which is often used to make steel. The government is hoping to add value and support decarbonization in the industry.

A final investment decision on the plant is subject to approval from Posco’s partners, which include Japan’s Marubeni Corp. and China Steel Corp. The venture has targeted first output from 2031.

Port Hedland Iron will use natural gas instead of coal to reduce its emissions intensity. Eventually, green hydrogen — which has no emissions when burnt — could replace gas.

The steelmaking industry currently contributes about 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. The sector is one of the hardest to decarbonize.