Virtual Event
HILT CRC project webinar: Experimental evaluation of metallothermic processing of Australian iron ores
March 18 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm AEDT
Virtual Event
HILT CRC partners are invited to join us for an update on OFP002: Experimental evaluation of metallothermic processing of Australian iron ores.
Presented by Helios CEO Jonathan Geifman, the webinar will outline Helios’s sodium-based green ironmaking route – an oxygen-emitting process designed for low-grade ores, tailings, slags and red mud – and report on research findings to date.
This project is evaluating how the Helios process performs across a range of Australian ores and operating conditions.
Prof. Akbar Rhamdhani (Swinburne University of Technology) will also provide a snapshot of OFP001 Evaluation of metallothermic processing of Australian iron ores, which is screening alternative metallothermic routes through thermodynamic modelling, small-scale experiments and preliminary cost analysis to identify promising reductants, operating windows and recycling options for Australian ores.
Rachelle Doyle, Research Leader, HILT CRC Program 1 (Process Technologies), will introduce the speakers and moderate the audience Q&A.
NOTE: This webinar is exclusive to employees of HILT CRC Partner organisations. Register via the form below or contact admin@hiltcrc.com.au for the registration link.
Microsoft Event Terms and Conditions
SPEAKERS
Jonathan Geifman, CEO, Helios
Jonathan Geifman is an entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in various leadership roles. He co-founded Helios in 2018, originally as an in-situ-resource-utilisation (ISRU) space-tech company to produce oxygen on the lunar surface. Over the last 5 years, Helios has shifted its focus to green steel technology solutions with the goal of revolutionising and decarbonising the steel industry for a more sustainable world.
Akbar Rhamdhani, Professor of Sustainable Metallurgy, Swinburne University of Technology
Professor Akbar Rhamdhani is the Director of the Fluid and Process Dynamics (FPD) Group and Program Leader of Net-Zero Carbon Materials and Processes (Manufacturing Future Research Platform) at Swinburne University of Technology. He is also the leader of the Energy Transition Metals Research Flagship, leading university-wide research in this area.
Akbar obtained his PhD from McMaster University, Canada, in Materials Science and Engineering. He was a teaching-research academic at Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB) and the University of Queensland, a Visiting Professor at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Belgium, and a Visiting Scientist at CSIRO before joining Swinburne. He is currently a Visiting Professor at IT, in the Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering.
Akbar’s has expertise in advanced metal/material refining and impurities removal; development of new processes for metal production; thermodynamics and kinetics of high temperature metal and chemical processes; and low-carbon metal processes. Current research includes recycling and recovery of metals from urban resources (e-waste, end-of-life alkaline and lithium ion batteries, solar panel, permanent magnet); decarbonisation and hydrogenation of metallurgical processes; pyrometallurgical processes of rare earth elements; solar metallurgy (the use of concentrated solar thermal energy for minerals and metals processing); and astro-metallurgy (extra-terrestrial minerals and metals processing; e.g. metals extraction on mars and the moon).
Akbar delivered courses and workshops with/to metals industries in Australia, Europe and Indonesia. He and his research teams have received multiple international awards, including 2027 TMS Distinguished Lecturer; 2026 TMS EPD Science Award; 2026 TMS JSM Best Paper Award; 2025 Editor of Distinction Awards – Springer Nature; and 2024 LMD/EPD Best Energy Paper from TMS, USA. He is currently an Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy.
Rachelle Doyle, Leader, Program 1 – Process Technologies, HILT CRC
Rachelle is a Perth-based chemical engineer and senior R&D leader with 30+ years’ experience in diverse roles across iron ore, energy and alumina. She serves on several Curtin University advisory bodies (Chair, Chemical Engineering & Corrosion Centre Advisory Group; member, Curtin Institute of Energy Transition Industry Advisory Board) and on the University of Adelaide’s Centre for Energy Technology Advisory Board, bringing deep industry–research connectivity and portfolio management experience. She has built and led substantial research portfolios and partnerships, including a ~$90 million annual R&D program at Rio Tinto Iron Ore spanning early-phase research through to scaled field demonstrations.
Career highlights include leading technology teams and R&D portfolios at Rio Tinto (Iron Ore) and Fortescue Future Industries, shaping Woodside’s technology and new energies strategies, global implementation of process safety practices for Chevron, and early-career roles at Queensland Alumina (working for Hatch Kaiser Engineers) and Alcoa.
Rachelle’s contributions to technology development in Australia were recognised in 2024 when she was named a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). She is also a fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), a Chartered Professional Engineer and Deputy Chair of IChemE Australia, and has chaired Standards Australia’s Hydrogen Technologies Committee, helping deliver more than 30 standards since 2019.
