AGIG gives green light for 10 MW renewable hydrogen project

Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) said it will soon commence construction of its Hydrogen Park Murray Valley green hydrogen development which will include a 10 MW electrolyser that is expected to have an output capacity of about 4.5 tonnes of hydrogen per day.

The facility, to be powered by renewable energy sourced from a Victorian wind farm, will produce green hydrogen that will be blended at volumes of up to 10% into the existing gas network to supply about 40,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the twin cities of Wodonga and Albury, on the New South Wales side of the border.

Expected to commence operations in mid-2025, the project is supported by $36.1 million grant funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and $12.31 million from the Victorian government, with additional financial backing from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

The Hydrogen Park Murray Valley facility will be home to the largest electrolyser on the east coast of Australia and the second 10 MW electrolyser to be deployed in the country with French developer Engie Renewables having already commenced construction of a 10 MW electrolyser project in Western Australia.

ARENA Chief Executive Officer Darren Miller said the Murray Valley project will play a significant role in the development of commercial-scale renewable hydrogen deployments in Australia, helping to inform the progress of projects from conceptual plans to industrial implementation.

“Producing renewable hydrogen on this scale has never been done in Australia,” he said. “It’s essential to scaling up Australia’s renewable hydrogen industry that we get these first-generation projects up and running.”

“The lessons we learn here will help inform our hydrogen industry as it grows from its early stages to a pillar of the net-zero economy.”

AGIG will construct, commission and operate the Hydrogen Park Murray Valley facility that will have eight times the capacity of the group’s existing Hydrogen Park South Australia plant which is home to the largest operational electrolyser in Australia.

AGIG Chief Executive Officer Craig de Laine said the Murray Valley project represents a key step forward in Australia’s energy transition with green hydrogen capable of reducing emissions across the economy while underpinning the development of a domestic and export industry.

“Renewable hydrogen has substantial potential to support Australia’s low-carbon objectives,” he said. “We strongly believe that hydrogen, and renewable gas more broadly, will be critical if we are to achieve our ambitious low-carbon targets.”

While initial output from the facility will be blended into the existing gas supply, AGIG said Wodonga’s strategic location along a major road freight route also provides access to broader opportunities for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, particularly in heavy vehicle transport.

To be built alongside North East Water’s local wastewater treatment plant, the project will also explore opportunities to supply oxygen to aerate treatment ponds, and the potential to use reclaimed water for the production of hydrogen.

Construction of the Hydrogen Park Murray Valley facility is due to commence later this year with the facility operational by mid-2025.