Hydrogen

Earlier this month, London-based Eco Energy World announced a $500 million project to combine its ready to build 300 MW solar plant north of Gladstone, Queensland, with a 200 MW hydrogen plant and 100 MW of battery energy storage. pv magazine Australia sat down with EEW CEO Svante Kumlin to discuss the project, the green hydrogen future, and Australia’s future in it.

Rooftops will have to supply a third of the 524 GW of solar generation capacity needed by 2045 to reach a zero-carbon economy by mid century, according to an academic paper. The researchers also suggested green hydrogen should not play a central role in the nation’s energy transition.

As the vision of Australia becoming a leading hydrogen exporter sharpens, questions about the best form in which to send our offering into the world arise. Just in the last fortnight, a West Australian company has came out with a strong case for a new, largely overlooked form: compressed hydrogen. The curve ball has piqued the interest of many. “I think they’re really doing some very exciting work,” Scott Hamilton from the Smart Energy Council told pv magazine Australia.

Iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group has brought forward its net zero emissions target a decade to 2030 by advancing a raft of green hydrogen and ammonia projects. The mining company believes it’s green energy ambitions will demonstrate how the two “missing links” in the battle against climate change can decarbonise supply chains.

Market analyst Fitch Solutions has raised its expectations for renewables in Australia, citing the country’s unrivalled green hydrogen project pipeline and its commercially viable large-scale battery storage sector.

London-based Eco Energy World, which is already developing at 300 MW solar project north of Gladstone, Queensland, has announced that it is going to combine the solar plant with a 200 MW hydrogen plant and 100 MW of energy storage for green hydrogen exports to the global market.

Australian hydrogen research and development company, Star Scientific, has won a World Hydrogen Award for its patented HERO technology, which caused a flurry of excitement in 2020 and shows no signs of abating.

Australian mining technology company TNG Limited has had its flagship Mount Peake Project, which includes production plans for vanadium redox flow batteries and green hydrogen, recognised as nationally signifiant.

Wollongong, for decades a hub for coal and steel industries, is keen to play a key role in Australia’s decarbonised energy future with the local council proposing the coastal city as the ideal location for large-scale clean energy hydrogen production.

ASX-listed Province Resources is pushing ahead quickly with its plan to develop a 1 GW hybrid solar PV and wind farm in Western Australia as part of a proposal to produce renewable hydrogen for domestic and foreign markets.