Amp Energy wins bid for massive 5GW green hydrogen and metals plan

Canadian renewables developer Amp Energy has been tapped to lead development of a huge, gigawatt-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production project in South Australia’s Cape Hardy Port Precinct.

Amp, which is backed by the deep-pocketed Carlyle Group of investment funds, was selected for the Cape Hardy project following a three-month competitive process led SA-based miner, Iron Road.

Iron Road says Amp’s winning concept design proposes a 5GW scale electrolyser and associated green hydrogen and ammonia production facility at Cape Hardy, which is under development as a major new industrial precinct attached to a deep-water port.

The companies say the electrolyser will be “supported” by Amp’s existing Australian renewables projects, including the three South Australia solar and big battery projects snapped up by Amp in 2021.

The solar and battery projects form part of Amp’s $2 billion Australian plans to develop 20GW of electrolyser capacity across three precincts, from which it intends to produced the equivalent of 19 million tons a year of green ammonia, dubbed the Renewable Energy Hub of South Australia (REHSA).

Iron Road, which owns a the Central Eyre Iron Project (CEIP) on the Eyre Peninsula, says Amp’s selection for the job was helped along by the 18 months of “focused work” it has already chalked up on green hydrogen in the state.

The miner expects the CEIP to benefit from the close-by, large-scale renewable energy generation and transmission that will underpin the production of high quality green steel-making feedstock.

Amp, meanwhile, says it was drawn to Iron Road’s Cape Hardy project due to its strategic location and strong support from the South Australia and federal governments.

The Cape Hardy site has direct access to high voltage power through existing transmission infrastructure as well as a deep-water port that will allow transportation of renewable hydrogen.

“The development of strategically located, transmission-connected green hydrogen and ammonia facilities at select locations such as Cape Hardy in South Australia is critical to our continued global growth and long-term strategy,” says Amp co-founder and CIO Paul Ezekiel.

Iron Road says Amp’s pitch for the project further validates Cape Hardy as South Australia’s pre-eminent hydrogen export hub of scale.

“Our competitive offer-to-bid process was carefully designed to screen the most capable and motivated developer looking to prioritise and advance the project quickly and judiciously,” says Iron Road CEO Larry Ingle.

“We have selected Amp as a single lead developer who we expect will assemble additional consortium partners in collaboration with Iron Road.”

Iron Road says that based on Amp’s concept design work, a land parcel of around 410 hectares will be set aside for the proposed 5GW scale electrolyser project.

The plan is for a detailed project schedule and scope of work to be developed during a nine-month exclusivity period. Amp, in parallel, will continue to develop its nearby wind and solar projects to support the proposed Cape Hardy electrolyser project and hydrogen/ammonia facilities.

Iron Road says that Amp’s existing wind and solar developments on freehold land provide “significant advantages” for upstream components of the Cape Hardy project.