Australia’s military programs, particularly AUKUS, and Australia’s green industrialisation agenda are usually treated separately. They shouldn’t be. AUKUS is creating decades of demand for specialised steel and advanced manufacturing. Green industrialisation, meanwhile, is trying to move Australia beyond exporting unprocessed iron ore to producing low-emissions iron and undertaking higher-value manufacturing.
As with other green products, (…) green steel and Defence can be mutually helpful. The green steel industry needs demanding customers to set standards and demonstrate its capability, while Defence needs more qualified Australian suppliers. Demand from the armed forces alone cannot sustain a green steel industry, but it can help producers establish themselves in the larger civilian market.
Australia has committed A$8.5 billion to the submarine construction yard at Osborne, and Australian-made HY80 steel plate has secured its first order for US Virginia-class submarine construction. That order followed US Navy qualification of Bisalloy, which processes and heat-treats raw steel plate from fellow Australian company BlueScope. AUKUS Pillar One is creating a new market for Australian metallurgical capability. Green steel could eventually serve that market, provided it meets the same standards.
by The Strategist – Green steel can help Defence – which can help green steel
