green hydrogen

Renewable electricity will be linked to 90% of the actions needed to remove carbon emissions in 2050, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency, and the biggest volume of generation capacity will be provided by solar.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The facility is expected to be located in the state of Ceará and to be powered by around 3.6 GW of wind and solar facilities located in the region. The project developer is Australia-based Enegix Energy.

German energy company Steag is helping Thyssenkrupp decarbonise its steel production site in Duisburg-Walsum. Green hydrogen generation is expected to be powered by a mix of wind and solar power.

Large swaths of low-cost land: check. Lots of sun and wind: check. The ability to transport green hydrogen cost-effectively to energy importing economies: check. Then you’re in the race to become one of the “renewable energy superpowers” of the low-carbon economy. A growing number of countries are assessing their renewable resources and natural attributes and positioning themselves to become green hydrogen exporters. However, not all are created equal.

The University of New South Wales along with several other universities and the CSIRO are embarking on a feasibility study into how New South Wales can utilise excess renewable energy to make fuel, chemicals and feedstocks for industry. The aim is to develop a plan for how fuels and chemicals such as green hydrogen and ammonia produced from renewables can decarbonise industry and grow manufacturing.