Fortescue’s Ellie Coates exits UK role, abandons $210m Detroit plan
Family must come first for Fortescue Zero’s chief executive, Ellie Coates, and she has made the ‘difficult decision’ to step down.
Fortescue rising star Ellie Coates has been forced to step aside for family medical reasons in an unforeseen setback for the company’s decarbonisation and green energy ambitions.
Ms Coates has stepped down as chief executive of Fortescue Zero, the UK-based business that was once-part of the Williams F1 racing team and acquired by Fortescue for $US222m ($336m) in 2022.
The blow comes as the iron ore miner continues to dump green energy projects in the US.
In the latest move – unrelated to Ms Coates – the Andrew Forrest-led Fortescue has abandoned a $US210m plan to make electric vehicle batteries, fast chargers and electrolysers in Detroit, Michigan.
Ms Coates was appointed to lead Fortescue Zero late in 2024 and moved from Perth to London to run the business that is central to Dr Forrest achieving his goal of replacing diesel-powered haul trucks and achieving net-zero emissions without using offsets at the company’s iron ore mines in WA.
She has also exited the Fortescue Zero Limited board while dealing with challenging family health issues.
Former Argentina rugby captain Gus Pichot, who has had a rapid rise through Fortescue ranks to become one of Dr Forrest’s top lieutenants, will take the reins at Fortescue Zero in the interim.
He already has responsibility for green energy and mining growth projects after a leadership shake-up in May that resulted in the departure of energy chief executive Mark Hutchinson.
A Fortescue spokeswoman said: “Ellie Coates is not leaving Fortescue and remains a valuable member of our business.
“For family medical reasons, Ellie Coates has made the difficult decision to step down from her current role as Fortescue Zero CEO and return from the UK to her home in Australia.
“Fortescue is supporting Ellie and her family with their repatriation, and she will remain a part of the Fortescue family.”
Ms Coates was Fortescue’s executive director of strategy and innovation before moving to London with her family to run Fortescue Zero.
She took over from Mr Hutchinson, who became the acting boss when Judith Judson departed in June 2024 after less than a year as chief executive of the business formerly known as Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE).
Fortescue has sought to adapt some of the technology WAE applied in racing electric cars in Formula E to moving large volumes of iron ore using haul trucks it is building via a partnership with German company Liebherr.
Fortescue Zero is working on the fast-charging systems the miner will need to achieve its Pilbara targets and has worked on so-called “green iron” technology.
Under Ms Coates, Fortescue Zero worked on a prototype battery-electric locomotive but appears to have moved on from plans for a so-called “infinity train”, which would use gravitational energy for recharging.
Speaking in June after Fortescue hailed a prototype battery-electric locomotive making the 1000km-plus journey from Perth to the Pilbara, Ms Coates said: “This milestone reflects the strength of Fortescue Zero, who is innovating and developing the in-house green technology solutions to decarbonise Fortescue.
“Our team continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in heavy industry decarbonisation.”
Fortescue maintains it continues to work on battery-electric locomotives despite reports that about 100 workers and contractors have been let go or redeployed.
Ms Judson spruiked plans for the Michigan Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Detroit in the months before she departed Fortescue Zero.
Perth-headquartered Fortescue confirmed it had walked away from an investment in Michigan less than two months after ditching plans to spend almost $900m on a green hydrogen project in Arizona.
The Fortescue spokeswoman said the latest retreat was related to the US Trump administration’s policies, but didn’t rule out future investments in the US.
“Fortescue is committed to innovating, creating and producing the groundbreaking technologies needed to accelerate the green transition and proving that green energy solutions are not only possible, but profitable,” she said.
“Following a comprehensive review of the economics, logistics and deadlines to meet our ambitious decarbonisation targets, we have made the decision to reassess the future of our US manufacturing strategy and no longer proceed with our planned Michigan manufacturing centre.
“Current policy settings and market conditions in the US, including recent changes to critical tax credits, have created significant uncertainty around the viability of long-term investment in advanced manufacturing.”
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