Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Billionaire iron magnate Andrew Forrest believes he's on the cusp of a breakthrough to decarbonise shipping and heavy industry using hydrogen.
As the Executive Chairman of the Fortescue, one of the world's largest iron ore companies, Andrew Forrest is not an easy to pigeonhole industrial billionaire. He built Fortescue into a hugely successful company, partly thanks to his belief in taking unconventional paths.
After a serious accident meant he had to take a break from work, he enrolled in a PhD in marine science. For over a decade now, has been very vocally committed to getting his company's practices aligned with a climate-safe pathway. More recently, he's also been shaking fellow CEOs and leaders out of climate complacency by highlighting the risks of lethal humidity.
This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington asks Andrew about the current climate crusade he's on, what he makes of the recent policy decisions taken by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to agree carbon penalties for highly emitting ships, and if hydrogen can compete with renewables to be the power source of the future.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Discover More:
• Fortescue's website: fortescue.com/en
• The Sierra Leone Special: youtu.be/z-5QjSfy2SM
• Hydrogen Insider: 'The market didn’t turn up' | Fortescue's green hydrogen boss exits the company: hydrogeninsight.com/production/the-market-didn-t-turn-up-fortescues-green-hydrogen-boss-exits-the-company
• Clean Hydrogen's Missing Trillions - Audioblog 13 youtube.com/watch?v=jNxCrQyCTpk
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up On Cleaning Up
00:47 - Introduction
02:24 - Who Is Andrew Forrest?
4:20 - PhD in Marine Ecology
06:45 - Building Fortescue
10:26 - Interest in Hydrogen
11:40 - Economics of Hydrogen
15:45 - You Ignore Hydrogen At Your Peril
18:00 - International Hydrogen Pipelines
20:56 - Hydrogen vs Direct Electrification
21:30 - Ammonia For Ships and the IMO
25:20 - Nuclear For Shipping
26:54 - Reforming COP
28:30 - Lethal Humidity
31:00 - Geoengineering
32:00 - We Need To Stop Fossil
34:11 - The Tide’s Gone Out on Hydrogen
35:45 - The Costs of Nuclear
40:02 - Outro
Billionaire iron magnate Andrew Forrest believes he's on the cusp of a breakthrough to decarbonise shipping and heavy industry using hydrogen.
As the Executive Chairman of the Fortescue, one of the world's largest iron ore companies, Andrew Forrest is not an easy to pigeonhole industrial billionaire. He built Fortescue into a hugely successful company, partly thanks to his belief in taking unconventional paths.
After a serious accident meant he had to take a break from work, he enrolled in a PhD in marine science. For over a decade now, has been very vocally committed to getting his company's practices aligned with a climate-safe pathway. More recently, he's also been shaking fellow CEOs and leaders out of climate complacency by highlighting the risks of lethal humidity.
This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington asks Andrew about the current climate crusade he's on, what he makes of the recent policy decisions taken by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to agree carbon penalties for highly emitting ships, and if hydrogen can compete with renewables to be the power source of the future.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.
Discover More:
• Fortescue's website: fortescue.com/en
• The Sierra Leone Special: youtu.be/z-5QjSfy2SM
• Hydrogen Insider: 'The market didn’t turn up' | Fortescue's green hydrogen boss exits the company: hydrogeninsight.com/production/the-market-didn-t-turn-up-fortescues-green-hydrogen-boss-exits-the-company
• Clean Hydrogen's Missing Trillions - Audioblog 13 youtube.com/watch?v=jNxCrQyCTpk
Chapters:
00:00 - Coming Up On Cleaning Up
00:47 - Introduction
02:24 - Who Is Andrew Forrest?
4:20 - PhD in Marine Ecology
06:45 - Building Fortescue
10:26 - Interest in Hydrogen
11:40 - Economics of Hydrogen
15:45 - You Ignore Hydrogen At Your Peril
18:00 - International Hydrogen Pipelines
20:56 - Hydrogen vs Direct Electrification
21:30 - Ammonia For Ships and the IMO
25:20 - Nuclear For Shipping
26:54 - Reforming COP
28:30 - Lethal Humidity
31:00 - Geoengineering
32:00 - We Need To Stop Fossil
34:11 - The Tide’s Gone Out on Hydrogen
35:45 - The Costs of Nuclear
40:02 - Outro
