Energy Estate signs MoU to find “missing link” to low-cost renewable hydrogen

The Australian company behind plans to develop a 1.6GW renewable hydrogen production, transportation and export hub in the New South Wales Hunter region has signed up a key new partner to the project.

Energy Estate, which is developing the proposed $2 billion Hunter Hydrogen Network (H2N) with Eurus Energy,  signed an MoU with Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure to collaborate on the delivery of green hydrogen.

But Abergeldie’s major share in Ardent Underground – a company described as “the missing link to a green hydrogen future” – offers a particularly promising line of expertise to boost Energy Estate’s plans.

A major challenge to cheap green hydrogen

Renewable hydrogen figures enormously in the net zero emissions plans of Australia – particularly in the hard to decarbonise sectors of industry and heavy transport. But storing and transporting large quantities of the zero emissions fuel for practical application remains a major challenge.

Abergeldie founder and executive chair Mick Boyle says Ardent Underground was established in 2019 to repurpose Abergeldie’s world leading blind boring technology to address exactly this problem.

Ardent Underground now specialises in the development of purpose-built deep shafts to store hydrogen and other gases below ground.

The NSW-based company, whose technical director is Dr Keith Lovegrove, says these large-scale compressed hydrogen storage solutions are safe, replicable, scalable and cost effective.

“We have developed a unique hydrogen storage technology and are fully supported by Abergeldie’s proven track record of delivering complex infrastructure,” says Ardent CEO David Bentley.

“Locally, we are already seeing significant opportunities for the optimisation of large-scale renewable hydrogen production and storage projects.”

Australia’s first green hydrogen valley

For H2N, Energy Estate and Eurus Energy aim to establish Australia’s first “hydrogen valley:” a 1.6GW project combining large-scale electrolysers and a shared hydrogen pipeline to the Port of Newcastle and other strategic locations in the Hunter.

According to the MoU announced on Tuesday, Energy Estate and Abergeldie will first collaborate on advancing the integration of green hydrogen storage into the H2N project.

“Strategically optimised hydrogen production and storage is the next level of sophistication for the delivery of lowest cost hydrogen,” says Energy Estate co-founder Simon Currie.

“Our vision is to create hydrogen corridors to produce, store and deliver hydrogen in the most cost effective and efficient way to foster local and export markets for green hydrogen and derivative products.”

“Our collaboration with Abergeldie will be a critical factor in delivery of our portfolio of green hydrogen projects,” added Simone O’Sullivan, director of decarbonisation at Energy Estate.