The Government of Queensland and mining major Fortescue have settled a dispute over an AUD $66m ($47m) subsidy awarded to the firm’s 2GW electrolyser factory that was subsequently mothballed.
Launched in August 2025, the legal action saw the state aim to recoup public funding it invested in the Gladstone facility, which reached final investment decision in 2023.
Opened in 2024, Fortescue had billed it as one of the first facilities “globally” to house an automated assembly line. However, just months later the company scrapped its manufacturing plans and mothballed the site as part of a wider roll-back of its hydrogen plans.
Under the settlement, Queensland authorities will acquire land and other infrastructure associated with the project, alongside “other agreed arrangements.”
The manufacturing facility had been co-located with the 50MW PEM50 green hydrogen project which Fortescue also axed, saying it was “no longer needed” to test its self-developed technology.
The cancellations came amid a broader scale-back of Fortescue’s hydrogen-focused ambitions, which saw it also cut an 80MW project in Arizona, and push back the start-up of a Norway project from 2027 to 2029.
Around the same time, the company reported a 41% drop in full-year profits.
While Fortescue maintains some involvement in hydrogen, including a green iron project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region and its backing of compatriot direct solar-to-hydrogen start-up Sparc Hydrogen, the firm’s focus looks to have pivoted.
In June, it revealed it would charter 12 ammonia-ready cargo ships from Belgian maritime group CMB.Tech.
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