InterContinental Energy

Western Australia’s green fuels developer InterContinental Energy has announced its revolutionary cost cutting nodel hydrogen production system, which allows for the scaling of giga-scale production and is the mainstay of the proposed 70 GW Western Green Energy Hub.

A 70 GW solar and wind mega-project proposed for Western Australia’s Goldfields–Esperance region has been submitted for environmental approval from the state government.

An international consortium planning to build a 50 GW solar-and-wind energy hub in Australia’s southwest has announced it will partner with Korea’s largest electricity utility to advance the development of what would be one of the largest green hydrogen production facilities in the world.

Mattiq says it is evaluating “millions of combinations” of different alternatives to iridium for PEM electrolysis, while Hystar, Air Liquide, and Trillium Energy Solutions have revealed plans for the North American hydrogen market.

Oil and gas giant BP is reportedly set to take a 30% stake in the 26 GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub project proposed for Western Australia’s north coast.

Singapore’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund GIC has made a “strategic” investment in renewables developer InterContinental Energy, one of the major players behind mega solar and wind-powered green hydrogen projects planned for Western Australia’s Pilbara and southeast regions.

Engie unit Tractebel is developing an offshore concept for the storage of hydrogen in caverns. Meanwhile, three major hydrogen projects in WA are set to receive support from the state government’s lead agency services, including Province Resources’ HyEnergy Project, The Murchison Hydrogen Renewables facility, and InterContinental Energy’s Western Green Energy Hub.

The proposed mega-project would be the world’s largest renewable hub if realised, with a massive 50 GW of solar and wind being used to produce either 3.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen or, alternatively, 20 million tonnes of green ammonia yearly. The $100 billion Western Green Energy Hub, as its called, is being proposed by two of the same companies behind the 26 GW Asia Renewable Energy Hub, which last month had its environmental approvals rejected by the federal environment minister.

Giant PV and wind projects are taking shape in Australia’s north, with the aim of supplying Asia with the clean energy it needs for decades to come. The Asian Renewable Energy Hub is one such project, as it targets green hydrogen production at a cost of $1.50/kg. Sacha Thacker, chief strategy officer at InterContinental Energy – one of the companies trying to the get the ambitious initiative off the ground – says that while the scale of projects today boggles the mind, the coming demand is more boggling still.