Massive Queensland renewable hydrogen hub wins key backer and offtaker

Plans are underway to make a start on a massive green hydrogen hub in Gladstone, Queensland, with the capacity for 3GW of electrolysis and the production of up to 5,000 tonnes a day of green ammonia, powered by new-build solar and wind resources.

Australia-based multinational Orica and H2U Group have entered a strategic partnership to begin the first stage of the multi-billion industrial-scale H2-Hub, underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding to explore a green ammonia offtake and supply deal.

The two companies said on Tuesday they would also explore the potential for a green ammonia export terminal at the Port of Gladstone, leveraging the existing Orica ammonia storage capacity and associated connecting infrastructure in the area to facilitate large scale exports.

The H2-Hub Gladstone, as noted above, has a planned capacity of up to 3 gigawatts of electrolysis and up to 5,000 tonnes per day of green ammonia production, while potentially also contributing to improving the reliability of renewable electricity supply in Central Queensland.

Its location in the Gladstone region gives it access to pre-existing industrial and port infrastructure, to produce and supply green ammonia directly to domestic customers, and support export capabilities of green ammonia to key North Asian and European economies.

Orica, being one of the world’s largest suppliers of commercial explosives and blasting systems, is a major player in the global and domestic market for ammonia, which is a key ingredient of explosives – and which needs to be greened up.

Earlier this year, Orica teamed up with Origin Energy to assess the viability of a hydrogen production facility and downstream value chain opportunities in the New South Wales Hunter Region, including a grid connected 55MW electrolyser.

Australia-based H2U, meanwhile, is positioning itself as a pure-play, specialist developer of green hydrogen infrastructure, and was recently named as one of the project partners in a proposal by the former South Australia Liberal government develop a $13 billion hydrogen hub at Port Bonython.

According to a February report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, H2U is on track to build 75MW of hydrogen electrolysers this year, second only to Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), which is slated to build 80MW.

H2U founder and CEO Attilio Pigneri on Tuesday welcomed Orica’s participation in theH2-Hub as a “huge vote of confidence in this game-changing project.

“We look forward to working with Orica, the Port of Gladstone, and the Queensland government to establish Gladstone as a globally leading hub in the emerging green hydrogen and green ammonia export market, and to secure new long-term jobs and economic growth for Central Queensland,” he said.

Construction of the H2-Hub, which has been declared a “Coordinated Project” by the Queensland government, is expected to create more than 550 jobs during construction, mare than 140 ongoing local operational jobs and around 1,900 indirect jobs, and attract a $4.7 billion investment over the course of its construction.

“We’ve been operating in Yarwun for over 30 years, and are committed to ensuring our Yarwun facility and the Gladstone region remain competitive in a lower carbon economy, while creating more sustainable products for customers and opportunities across new industries,” said Orica’s president of Australia Pacific, Germán Morales.

“This partnership forms a critical milestone for the H2-Hub Gladstone project, and we look forward to working alongside H2U to define opportunities to progress the project and contribute to a more sustainable future for the region.”

Queensland acting premier and minister for state development Steven Miles said commitments like those made by H2U and Orica would help to propel Central Queensland towards becoming a 
clean energy powerhouse.