Fortescue is quietly trying to turn its green energy projects into fuel for the data centre boom, not just for hydrogen exports. In April, the company wrote to Norway’s government to propose using its Holmaneset green hydrogen and ammonia project as a power source for “large-scale data centres”.
The correspondence, obtained by The Australian, urged the Norwegian Prime Minister to move quickly to complete Holmaneset and explore fresh Fortescue investment in the country. That direct pitch signals a strategic shift from pure hydrogen ambitions toward digital infrastructure.
Holmaneset is being positioned as more than a hydrogen site, effectively as an anchor power asset for energy-hungry server farms. At the same time, Fortescue is lobbying for changes to the Western Australian Mining Act so it can repurpose excess power from its Pilbara renewable grid.
That excess electricity would then underpin new data centres in Western Australia, turning mining-linked energy into a new revenue stream. Policy tweaks in WA would mirror the company’s push in Norway and extend its model across continents.
Fortescue’s clean energy groundwork is emerging as a competitive edge in the global data centre race. Major operators such as AirTrunk, NextDC, CDC and HMC along with newer players including Firmus, Iren and Sharon AI are all chasing low-carbon power at scale.
Fortescue is betting that its renewable assets can supply that demand faster than rivals building from scratch. After pulling back from some green hydrogen ambitions, the group is now focused on owning the power behind artificial intelligence and cloud growth instead of just producing fuel.
