A massive 2.8GW solar farm has been proposed for the Tiwi Islands off the coast of the Northern Territory as part of plans to create a major renewable hydrogen hub for export to Asia markets.
The Tiwi Hydrogen Project comes from the small Perth-based listed company Global Energy Ventures and appears to have the backing of local landowners, representatives of the indigenous community, and the territory government.
The initial proposal is for a 500MW solar farm to be built on land cleared for plantation use, but GEV says it could be expanded to 2.8GW as the renewable hydrogen market expands.
Financial close on the first stage is expected by around 2023 – around the same time as the even bigger Sun Cable project to the south which plans to build up to 20GW of solar and 42GWh of battery storage and export power via a sub sea cable to Singapore. The first hydrogen could be exported from 2026.
GEV, which describes itself as an “energy transition company” and has a market cap of little more than $50 million, has made a string of hyrogen related announcements in the past year, including a patented design for a compression ship to transport hydrogen.
It said the staged rollout of the Tiwi project would allow it and its customers to benefit from the ongoing cost and efficiency improvements in photovoltaics, electrolysers and shipping.
“The Tiwi Hydrogen Project leverages the unique benefits of GEV’s compressed hydrogen shipping solution, meaning no requirement for costly onshore hydrogen storage and minimal battery storage (as the production and loading of hydrogen will “load follow” the daily and seasonal solar generation profile),” it said.
In a statement, GEV managing director and CEO Martin Carolan said the company was seeking to demonstrate “the simplicity and efficiency” of using compression for a pipe-to-pipe green hydrogen supply chain and to provide greater certainty in the commercialisation of its shipping solution.
The company has been working on its own design for a compressed hydrogen ship, starting with a “pilot” cargo capacity of 430 tonnes before expanding this to 2,000 tonnes.
It recently announced an agreement with the HyEnergy hydrogen project located on the Gascoyne Coastline, with a pilot ship to be used as a base case for the transport of green hydrogen to Asia Pacific markets. It has also signed a srtringMOUs for green hydrogen projects with Pacific Hydro and others.
“This project can transition GEV from a midstream service provider to an innovative hydrogen company,” Carolan said of the Tiwi project.
“Our compressed shipping solution is highly modular and can therefore scale to match the advancement of electrolyser technologies and market demand for pure green hydrogen gas, and deliver a competitive cost of hydrogen as the project scales.
“The support of the Northern Territory Government also demonstrates the Territory’s strategy and vision to be a world-scale producer and exporter of renewable hydrogen.”
The territory’s minister for renewables and energy Eva Lawler said she welcomed the fact that GEV was working closely with the Tiwi Land Council and the Traditional Owners of the land.
“With our world-class solar resources and our proximity to key export markets, the Northern Territory is an ideal place to generate renewable hydrogen to meet the future demand within our region.”
RenewEconomy has sought further details about the project timeline and funding options.
See also: Forrest strikes deal with UK billionaires for biggest renewable hydrogen play in UK
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