The confidential agreement allows Element Zero to focus on scaling its innovative, non-hydrogen-based technology after its seed funding was heavily depleted by legal defense costs.
Australia’s Fortescue, the iron ore giant spearheaded by billionaire Andrew Forrest, has abruptly ended its sprawling and acrimonious Federal Court lawsuit against green iron start-up Element Zero and its three former high-ranking executives. The settlement, confirmed this week, brings to a close a nearly two-year legal war that centred on the alleged theft of confidential technology crucial to the burgeoning global race for carbon-free steel.
Fortescue had accused former chief scientist Bart Kolodziejczyk and former technology development lead Bjorn Winther-Jensen of misusing intellectual property related to green iron processes—the company’s "holy grail" for decarbonising iron ore production—to launch their rival venture. Element Zero CEO Michael Masterman, also a former Fortescue employee and once a key lieutenant to Forrest, was named as a respondent in the case.
Under the terms of the confidential settlement, Fortescue's claims for damages or compensation against the founders were dismissed, and critically for the financially strained start-up, all previous cost orders were vacated, with each side agreeing to cover its own expenses.
The technology at the heart of the dispute involves novel ways to convert iron ore to metallic iron using clean energy. Fortescue has heavily invested in hydrogen-based direct iron reduction (DRI), while Element Zero claims its patented process, which uses electroreduction (molten oxide electrolysis), is not reliant on expensive green hydrogen and is easier to industrialise.
The legal battle escalated into a deeply personal and aggressive corporate spat. Fortescue’s tactics included deploying private investigators to conduct surveillance on the defendants and their families, with reports detailing activities like tracking family members, photographing children, and rifling through mail. The company also successfully obtained controversial search orders leading to raids on the homes and offices of Element Zero principals, resulting in the seizure of an enormous nine million documents.
Element Zero co-founder Dr. Kolodziejczyk stated he was now keen for his start-up to work with Fortescue, despite the recent history, confirming that the vicious Federal Court stoush had been "abruptly settled" this week.
The sudden settlement comes just weeks after Fortescue hit a major procedural roadblock in the Federal Court. Justice Brigitte Markovic had rejected the miner’s application to access all of Element Zero’s work, a motion FMG’s counsel had argued was necessary to run their case. This setback is widely believed to have precipitated the agreement.
For Element Zero, the outcome offers a critical lifeline. Chief Executive Michael Masterman stated, “We are delighted to put this episode behind us. We can now focus all of our deep and capable technical resources on rapidly advancing our iron-ore-to-iron technology and developing our manufacturing sites in the Pilbara heartland of Port Hedland and in the US.”
