The Australian start-up Austrom says it has acquired enough land in Callide to build a large solar-battery power hub. The site, though unnamed, is said to boost excellent solar conditions and have access to the regional power transmission grid.
The 3.6 GW solar PV park will power the production of green hydrogen through electrolysis, which is expected to result in over 200,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year.
“The technology for generating hydrogen more efficiently is evolving rapidly as is the demand for commercially produced quantities of green-powered hydrogen production,” said Austrom Hydrogen Director Tonny Jorgensen. “Along with contributing significantly to Australia’s export market and economy, this project will provide thousands of jobs, boosting regional economies and help foreign industry partners achieve their green hydrogen targets.”
Gladstone turns into hydrogen hub
The Port of Gladstone, one of Australia’s traditional centers for the coal and gas industry, is on the verge of transforming into the nation’s green hydrogen hotspot.
To that end, the Queensland Government has set up a $15 million Hydrogen Industry Development Fund. It helped fund Australia’s first $4.2 million gas injection facility that will inject green hydrogen into the local gas grid.
AGN, part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), has also been granted more than $1.7 million through the fund to build a blending facility to deliver 10% renewable hydrogen into the gas network.
Gladstone is also the chosen home to the Hydrogen Utility’s (H2U) latest project, a proposed $1.61 billion industrial complex for large-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia. Dubbed ‘H2-Hub Gladstone’, the project is being developed in stages and comprises an up to 3 GW electrolysis plant with up to 5,000 tonnes per day ammonia production capacity.
Green hydrogen reaches cost parity in Australia
Though green hydrogen is still more costly to produce than conventional sources, Wood Mackenzie expects it could reach parity by 2030 in Australia, Germany and Japan based on $30 per MWh for renewables. While technology is advancing, analysts see “considerable uncertainty” around hydrogen investment in Asia-Pacific.
“In our accelerated transition scenario case for Asia Pacific, we forecast the share of zero-carbon energy reaching 35% by 2040 with green hydrogen capturing up to 3% in the mix,” said Prakash Sharma, head of Markets and Transitions in Asia Pacific. “In the mobility sector, the share of electric vehicles increases up to 65% of new sales by 2040 in the scenario case compared to an average 25% in the base case.”
Globally, some $365 million has been invested in hydrogen sector, according to Wood Mackenzie estimates, with over $3.5 of billion worth of projects due for commissioning by 2025.