Forrest dives deeper into European green hydrogen with investment in Zhero

Iron ore billionaire and renewables advocate Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries says it is investing in green hydrogen and renewable energy developer Zhero in a bid to accelerate climate action and combat the global energy crisis.

FFI says it is joining renewables investment groups Three Cairns Group and Galvanize Climate Solutions in a funding and shareholding agreement with Zhero as is it approaches a final investment decision for 5GW of innovative projects by 2026.

The size of FFI’s investment wasn’t disclosed, and the Zhero website does not identify any of the big green energy projects that it is touting.

Zhero’s first investment will be in Tree Energy Solutions, which aims to accelerate the development of an import facility in Germany, with the first delivery of green hydrogen into its terminal in Wilhelmshaven expected in 2026.

FFI  earlier this month agreed to invest 30 million euros ($46 million) in Tree Energy Solutions to develop what it says will be the world’s largest integrated green hydrogen project to bring green molecules to Europe.

The first phase of the partnership is to jointly develop and invest in the supply of 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen. FFI has also agreed to terms for an additional investment of 100 million euros ($154 million) for a significant stake in the construction of the Wilhelmshaven terminal.

“FFI is building a global portfolio of green hydrogen and renewable energy projects, as well as investing in the research and development required to aid the broader energy transition occurring globally,” FFI CEO Mark Hutchinson said in a statement.

“Europe needs solutions urgently to replace Russian fossil fuels, and the world needs solutions rapidly to keep temperatures under 1.5 degrees Celsius. The more we work together, the better placed we will be to achieve success,” he said.

“The transition to green hydrogen and renewable energy solutions is already underway, but we need to move faster, not slower and investing in companies like Zhero could help make it happen quicker than FFI could on its own,” said  Hutchinson.

Zhero founder Marco Alverà says the backing of major investors like FFI would help Zhero  become a “leading player,” in renewable energy and storage.

Alvera is also group CEO of Tree Energy Solutions, while his co-founder Paddy Padmanathan is the president of ACWA power, the company behind some of the biggest and lowest cost solar PV and solar thermal projects in the Middle East and north Africa.

The website promotes an acronym PPWS (Put the Panels Where it’s Sunny), which would fit with ACWA’s project history, and its claims that solar can be produced at a cost of $US10/MWh.

Forrest is heavily backing green hydrogen and envisages vast solar arrays across Australia’s sun-drenched north and west to power the electrolysis process which splits water into its components, hydrogen and oxygen.