Forrest’s relentless pursuit of green hydrogen deals extends to Jordan and Argentina

Iron ore billionaire and green hydrogen evangelist Andrew Forrest has extended his extraordinary range of announcements and deal-making with potentially massive wind and solar hydrogen projects in Jordan and Argentina.

The number and scale of announcement from Forrest over the past week – including at the Glasgow COP26 climate conference, where he is leading a large delegation from the Fortescue Future Industries green energy offshoot – is breath-taking, but so are his plans to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year by 2030.

To deliver that much green hydrogen would require renewable energy capacity in the hundreds of gigawatts, which would seem an unlikely and improbable task. But Forrest is ploughing ahead.

The Glasgow conference gives ready access (if you are a billionaire) to any number of country delegations and it appears that Forrest has seized the opportunity to meet and do deals. His meetings included US president Joe Biden and climate envoy John Kerry.

On Thursday, Forrest announced a partnership with the  Kingdom of Jordan are partnering to conduct studies into massive wind and solar installations to produce green hydrogen and green ammonia.

A “framework” agreement will provide FFI with initial rights over 450 square kilometres of land for potential solar production, 1,000 square kilometres for wind production, and 1.5 sq kms for a potential industrial zone to produce the hydrogen and ammonia.

 “Because of the abundance of both solar and wind power we can create in the Kingdom, Jordan has incredible renewable energy potential, as well as the potential to become a leader in producing and exporting green hydrogen and green ammonia. Jordan’s environment minister Dr Muawieh Khalid Radaideh said in a joint statement.

 “The Kingdom is committed to a greener future, and our partnership with FFI is part of our dedication to an energy transition.”

Forrest was equally effusive. “The only way to stop global warming is through practical, implementable solutions and this partnership will play an important role in utilising the great potential for renewable energy in the Kingdom of Jordan,” he said.

FFI says Jordan’s prime wind and solar resources are located close to an operating port and that makes it an attractive location for green hydrogen and green ammonia.

A day earlier, Forrest and his team met Argentina president Alberto Fernandez on the sidelines of the Glasgow summit, and Reuters reported they discussed a potential $US8.4 billion “green hydrogen” investment mostly centred around wind in the Rio Negro province.

“It is expected to turn Río Negro into a global green hydrogen export hub by 2030,” the government said. “It is the most important international investment for our country in the last 20 years.”

Reuters quoted Agustin Pichot, the Latin America head of Fortescue Future Industries, telling a press conference that a memorandum of understanding had been signed a few months ago.

“Today we are talking about an investment of around $8 billion,” Pichot said, adding that Fortescue would carry out analysis of local resources, including wind availability, it will use as the main energy source.

The agreement calls for a $US1.2 billion pilot stage aiming to produce 35,000 tons of green hydrogen by 2024, before a $7.2 billion first productive stage aiming for annual output of some 215,000 tons of green hydrogen.

Curiously, the Argentina meeting was tweeted by FFI, but the agreement has not been separately announced by Fortescue Metals or FFI, unlike similar agreements with states in Brazil and with Indonesia.

It should be noted that all these deals – including the planned 2GW electrolyser factory mooted for Gladstone and the 1GW solar module factory – have not been locked in, and are subject to final investment decisions.

Last week, in an investor call with analysts to discuss Fortescue’s latest quarterly production report, analysts queried the company about its investment plans, and its assumed production and technology costs. They asked for a special briefing to understand these cost estimates.

Fortescue boss Elizabeth Gaines responded by saying: “We haven’t actually announced or approved any projects. We’re talking about the opportunities of this industry, which we think will be significant and clearly we would develop a portfolio of opportunities.

“Anything that we have announced, including Gladstone, we have provided a capital estimate for that. So there’s a long way to go on a number of these areas. We think it presents a significant opportunity but we take your feedback onboard.”