- Country’s most advanced green steel mill to supply site-ready reinforced steel from WA to Victoria as Generation Steel partners with Stride Reinforcement.
- Collie Green Steel Mill project adds $40m in-house Cut and Bend facility, to supply 100,000 tonnes of site-ready reinforced steel to WA market each year.
- MOUs signed with two of Australia’s largest builders, with the mill supporting 500 jobs during construction, and 250 in the Collie Coal community.
- Using 100% renewable energy and 100% Australian recycled scrap steel
The country’s most advanced green steel mill project will supply Australian-made, site ready reinforced steel (rebar) from WA to Victorian construction customers, through a new ‘Cut and Bend’ partnership between owner Generation Steel and fabricator Stride Reinforcement.
Generations Steel’s Collie Steel Mill project is also expanding significantly, with the addition of its own $40 million Cut and Bend facility, also located in WA. This will deliver 100,000 tonnes of project-ready rebar annually direct to WA construction customers. This addition takes the project’s total estimated value to $850 million.
The Collie site will be WA’s first ever steel mill, and the first built nationally in 35 years, scheduled to begin operations in 2028. Supporting 250 ongoing local jobs as Collie transitions from coal, it will produce 450,000 tonnes of ultra-low emissions steel annually, growing Australia’s domestic rebar capacity by a third.
With National MOU’s already signed with major builders Lendlease and Laing O’Rourke, today’s announcements position Generation Steel as a significant emerging Australian-owned challenger.
Generation Steel co-founder and Executive Director Don Johnston said the Stride Reinforcement partnership is the first of more east coast deals to come, and along with the new WA facility, marks a turning point for the sector.
“Right now the majority of reinforcing steel used in Australia is imported, and even Australian-made rebar is foreign owned and suffers from a lack of any competition,” Mr Johnston said.
“Cash and capital that could have been reinvested has instead drained away from Australian industry. This exposes Australia’s major construction projects to risk, price volatility, and sudden supply disruption.”
“By partnering with strong, Australian-owned independents like Stride, we can reliably supply genuinely local, low-emission steel to construction projects right across the country.”
Newly appointed Generation Steel chairman and Australian construction industry veteran, Enzo Gullotti, said the recent MOUs underlined the confidence builders have in the Collie Steel Mill’s potential.
“What we are building is a model for the next generation of Australian industry, and this vision is already being validated by the commercial market,” Mr Gullotti said.
Harnessing 100% renewable energy, and using 100% Australian recycled steel from day one, the Collie Steel Mill will be the first electric arc furnace (EAF) in Australia to use continuous casting and rolling technology, delivering further cost and energy efficiencies.
At 4.7GJ per tonne, Generation Steel’s rebar will use 45% less energy than competitor Infrabuild’s sustainable brand, and 61% less energy than Infrabuild’s standard rebar products.
Generation Steel co-founder and Executive Director Raj Aggarwal said the project comes at a pivotal moment for Australian manufacturing.
“Reinforcing steel in Australia is at the centre of three macro forces: pressure on supply chains in the face of geopolitical shifts, a lack of investment in new mills, and the emergence of technology which reduces energy use and emissions while improving cost and capability,” Mr Aggarwal said.
“Meeting these pressures requires a profound change in how we think about manufacturing investment, and sovereign resilience.”
“Just as we need investment in Australian fuel making, we need locally owned and made steel, and this project will shore-up supply and local jobs for generations.”
Mr Johnston said the project is essential to Collie’s transition away from coal, supporting 500 jobs during construction and 250 ongoing manufacturing roles.
“As Collie’s coal industry recedes, we are offering real, long-term, high-skill industrial jobs for the local community,” Mr Johnston said.
“For both operators and trades, we have mapped the jobs and skills and can support a whole cohort of workers and their families through a difficult industrial transition, into a strong industrial future’.
“Collie is the test case for the future of Australia’s coal towns. These regional centres have powered Australia and have the skills, grid connections and community support to embrace electric steel making.”
Mr Aggarwal said the future of Australian construction cannot rely on the outdated models of the past.
“By creating a secure, energy efficient domestic supply chain, we can ensure that the next generation of Australian infrastructure is built on foundations we make ourselves.”
