Newcastle is set to reclaim its “Steel City” moniker, with Greensteel Australia investing $500 million to build the nation’s first new mill in three decades.
The all-electric facility should be operational by January 2028, with Stage 2 plans being announced in the coming weeks.
It comes after the Sydney-based company secured the historic 70,000 square metre site at 51 Industrial Drive, Mayfield North – the home of the BHP Newcastle Steelworks for most of the 20th Century.
The former premises closed on 30 September 1999.
At its peak in 1981, it employed about 11,000 people… and an estimated 50,000 over its 84 years of operation.
The new mill will be the first in the country to run entirely on electricity, with no gas used anywhere in the process.
“The investment was made possible by the recent policy directions set by the state and federal governments,” Greensteel Australia’s head of government relations Patrick Buchan said.
“The Future Made in Australia agenda, together with housing targets and NSW’s support for industry in the Hunter, has given us the certainty we need to manufacture steel in Australia rather than overseas.
“Australia stopped building steel mills a generation ago.”
But, that’s changed, thanks to the leadership of the NSW and Australian governments, according to CEO Romany Ibrahim.
“They’ve made it possible to bring manufacturing home to Newcastle, where Australian steelmaking began and where it never should have left.
“It’ll directly employ over 200 full-time staff, including fitters, electricians, crane drivers, metallurgists and engineers.
“More jobs should be created during construction and through Hunter supply chains.”
The mill will produce up to 600,000 tonnes of finished steel per year for the housing, transport and energy sectors.
Greensteel Australia expects the extra local supply to reduce the construction industry’s reliance on imported goods and, over time, help stabilise and bring down prices for builders.
And, because the process produces no direct CO₂, it’ll also lower the embodied carbon of Australian manufacture.
The heartbeat of the transformation is electric induction furnace technology.
In a traditional mill, steel is heated in massive gas-fired furnaces that are inherently carbon-intensive.
Greensteel Australia’s process replaces those fossil-fuel burners with a green solution that prioritises electricity.
With its innovative design, the mill will tap into renewable energy grids.
The significance of this world-leading technology is defined by two critical advantages:
- Zero direct emissions: By using electricity to generate heat, the process produces no direct CO₂
- Energy independence: The technology gives the facility complete independence from gas supplies, providing a stable, future-proof energy model
Refurbishment and modernisation at the site will begin before the end of this year.
The main equipment, including the all-electric-induction furnace, is expected to arrive from October 2027.
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