Hydrogen

Australian company GenusPlus Group has been awarded a $15 million (USD 9.9 million) contract with Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) to design and construct a 275 kV substation at FFI’s Green Energy Manufacturing Centre in Gladstone, Queensland.

Danish renewable energy developer European Energy has acquired a majority stake in a 3.6 GW integrated solar and battery energy storage facility and green hydrogen production plant being developed near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.

The South Australia government has called for proposals from industry partners to build a $593 million (USD 398 million) green hydrogen power plant, including 250 MW of hydrogen electrolyser facilities and fit-for-purpose hydrogen storage infrastructure at Whyalla on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula.

Perth-based Provaris Energy said it is moving forward with its compressed H2 carrier, while Princeton University researchers have published a study on how the transition to hydrogen-based energy systems would affect the tropospheric burdens of methane and hydrogen.

Queensland government-owned generator Stanwell Energy and Japan’s largest hydrogen supplier Iwatani Corporation are preparing to commence a Front-End Engineering Design study as they drive towards a final investment decision on a 3 GW green hydrogen project being developed near Gladstone on the central Queensland coast.

Researchers from RMIT and the University of Melbourne have discovered high-frequency vibrations can release 14 times more hydrogen compared with standard electrolysis techniques. The discovery also has ramifications for the expensive, rare materials currently used in electrolysers. “With sound waves making it much easier to extract hydrogen from water, it eliminates the need to use corrosive electrolytes and expensive electrodes such as platinum or iridium,” research lead Amgad Rezk said.

The International Energy Agency says that it expects the use of renewables to support global hydrogen production to surge over the next five years. The Netherlands and Denmark, meanwhile, have revealed plans to expand electrolysis capacity.

South Korean steel producer Posco Group will invest $60 billion (USD 40b) in Australia by 2040 across the green steel supply chain, including in renewable generation, electrolysis and steel making processes.

The Western Australian government has made a number of announcements at a hydrogen conference held in its capital on Tuesday, December 6, including a commitment to streamline project approvals, releasing new policy and guidance for Crown land use, and an update to the state target of having green hydrogen comprise 1% of the generation in the state’s main grid.

Energy consultancy Xodus Group has announced plans to develop an export-scale green hydrogen project in the Mid-West region of Western Australia which will scale up to 1 GW of electrolyser capacity.