A University of Adelaide-led project which aims to increase the quality of iron ore while reducing emissions has been recognised with an international award.
Dr Alfonso Chinnici, from the University's School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, and his team were named the Net-Zero Industries Award 2025 Australian National Winners in the Outstanding Projects category.
The win was announced at the COP-30 Award Ceremony, which was streamed online.
Traditionally steel has been made by melting iron ore in a blast furnace that uses fossil fuel as an energy source, creating a significant source of carbon emissions for the industry.
A shift to a greener pathway for making steel is underway with the use of the direct reduced iron (DRI) in an electric arc furnace (EAF) process, but this requires high-quality iron ore as a feed stock to make it viable.
Dr Chinnici and his team are collaborating with industry and research partners on this Heavy Industry Low Carbon Transition (HILT) CRC project.
They are developing novel beneficiation technology to clean and upgrade the low-grade resource of iron ore in Australia -typically anything that contains less than 58 per cent iron by mass.
"The HILT CRC team has identified beneficiation technologies as a priority because of their potential to upgrade the quality of ores, which will increase the number for Australian ores that are potentially suited to the best-established routes to 'green' steel," says Professor Gus Nathan, Interim Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources.
"Beneficiation is the process of removing impurities from an ore, both to increase its grade and recover co-products.
"Our capability in this field will be further increased with the merger with UniSA, which brings leading capability in hydrometallurgy.
"The University of Adelaide has established a wide range of technology development programs to accelerate the path to green metals spanning beneficiation, reduction, calcination, hydrogen, electrification, alternative fuels and carbon capture utilisation and storage.
"These include both technical and enabling frameworks of regulation, policy and finance."
Green steel making requires high grade iron ore - between 64 to 67 per cent iron by mass - higher than Australia currently exports for use in blast furnaces, which can operate with an iron ore content between 58 to 62 per cent iron.
"This award is a testament to what true collaboration can achieve. The University of Adelaide, the Magaldi Power team in Italy and our iron and steelmaking partners have worked together to prove that Australia can lead the world in transforming low-grade iron ore into high-value green-steel feedstocks," says Dr Chinnici.
"Our bespoke high-temperature conveyor belt technology powered by renewables like hydrogen, solar, or electricity, delivers the high-flux thermal treatment needed to unlock underused resources and bridge both traditional and emerging steelmaking pathways.
"As an Italian who made Australia home a decade ago, working with Magaldi makes this milestone deeply personal.
"My thanks to HILT CRC for building the ecosystem that turns breakthrough ideas into real industrial progress as we push toward TRL5 and a net-zero future."
