WA green iron project selects Perdaman to develop hydrogen supply solution | Industrial

Industrial tech firm Calix has selected conglomerate Perdaman to engineer a hydrogen supply solution for its 30,000-tonne green iron demonstration project in Western Australia.

Over the next 12 months, Perdaman will engineer and design a hydrogen supply mechanism for Calix’s Zesty project under a heads of agreement.

During the period, the duo will work with stakeholders to progress the project, which aims to demonstrate hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) production from multiple iron ore sources, to final investment decision (FID).

Having completed front-end engineering design work in 2024, Calix estimated it could produce hot briquetted iron from low-grade iron ore for between AUD $630 ($442) and AUD $800 ($562) per tonne.

Calix had previously targeted FID by June this year after securing AUD $35m ($24.6m) from mining major Rio Tinto and AUD $44.9m ($31.5m) from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

With the project yet to reach FID, Calix CEO Phil Hodgson said the Perdaman partnership brought the firm a “step closer” to demonstrating the solution for clean iron production in Western Australia.

Perdaman is developing a 750MW green hydrogen and fertiliser project in the state, having been shortlisted for federal government subsidies. It also plans to produce urea and ammonia using grey hydrogen.

Though no final hydrogen source has been announced, Perdaman Managing Director Vikas Rambal said the company’s vision aligned “perfectly” with the Zesty project.

Currently, hydrogen DRI processes work best with high-grade iron ore of around 67% iron content, leading to fewer impurities, better reaction efficiency, and lower energy use.

While low-grade ores can be used, it typically requires prior processing, increasing cost, energy use and complexity.

A German-led pilot in Namibia processed 80 tonnes of untreated ore for DRI earlier this year.