"Everywhere we went we were looking at geothermal prospectivity,...

"Everywhere we went we were looking at geothermal prospectivity, hydo prospectivity, solar, wind. We were putting together hundreds and hundreds of gigawatts of power," he said.

"We are looking across the spectrum at Fortescue, to fertiliser, to making steel with hydrogen instead of coal."

Green energy agreements

Dr Forrest said Australia could become one of the world's great sources of hydrogen as well as iron ore and an even bigger player in steel making.

Dr Forrest, on behalf of Fortescue subsidiary Fortescue Future Industries, signed renewable and green energy project agreements with seven countries – Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uzbekistan.

The agreements are part of Dr Forrest’s vision to transform Fortescue into a "renewables and resources" company with gigawatt-generation capacity that would see it become one of the world’s major energy companies.