BlueScope Steel commits to Wollongong green steel transformation with $2.3 billion investment

BlueScope Steel has confirmed a $2.3 billion investment program to transform its Port Kembla Steelworks from conventional blast furnace production to low-emissions electric arc furnace technology, securing the long-term future of approximately 5,000 direct jobs and thousands more in the steel supply chain that underpins Wollongong's economy.

The investment, supported by a $300 million federal government grant from the National Reconstruction Fund and a concessional NSW government contribution, will see construction of Australia's largest electric arc furnace adjacent to the existing steelworks, with the first low-emissions steel targeted for production by 2030. The blast furnaces will continue operating in parallel until the transition is complete.

BlueScope chief executive Mark Vassella said the decision reflected the company's confidence that Australia's energy transition created a long-term competitive advantage for low-emissions steel production, particularly for customers in the construction and automotive sectors who were facing pressure to reduce embodied carbon in their products. "Green steel is not a niche product for the future — it is the mainstream product of the 2030s and 2040s," he said.

Federal Industry Minister Ed Husic described the announcement as the most significant industrial investment decision in regional Australia in a decade. The Port Kembla transformation is intended to serve as a model for the decarbonisation of Australia's heavy industrial base and will inform the development of a national green steel strategy.

The investment will create approximately 2,800 construction jobs at peak, with new permanent positions in the electric arc furnace operations adding to the direct BlueScope employment base over the transition period.

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