New joint venture to develop hydrogen port on Victorian south coast

The construction of new hydrogen production and export facilities on the southern coast of Victoria will be progressed as part of a new joint venture, announced on Monday, targeting both local and international hydrogen markets.

Consortium Pure Hydrogen has secured an agreement with Port Anthony Renewables Limited to develop a large-scale hydrogen facility in Port Anthony, with the aim to produce 20 tonnes per day of usable hydrogen.

Port Anthony, situated on Victoria’s south-east tip, has been used as a hub for the exploration and production of Victorian oil and gas fields. The new joint venture considers the port an ideal location to undertake the development of hydrogen production facilities that are well linked to shipping facilities.

“Port Anthony, and the greater surrounding area has a long-established history of supporting Australia’s energy needs and has actively participated decade after decade in the industry. It has proven itself to be a cornerstone in the energy sector,” Port Anthony Renewables executive chairman Ben Anthony said.

“This change of direction is in line with both current and future community expectations. It builds on Australia’s push to decarbonise a large energy-based industry by engaging in activities that substantially reduce carbon emissions. This deal with Pure Hydrogen International is yet another opportunity to show Port Anthony can manoeuvre itself to continue to provide that service to Australia through a greener way of operating.”

In January, the ASX-listed Real Energy announced its intention to form the Pure Hydrogen company, which is itself a joint venture with Liberty Hydrogen, to develop a series of four hydrogen production facilities across Australia’s east coast.

Real Energy has previously developed a number of coal-seam gas projects in Queensland, as well as undertaking oil exploration activities. The company’s push into the hydrogen industry will likely serve as an additional opportunity to generate value from its fossil fuel resources.

The company has previously indicated that the Victorian project, which was originally being developed by Liberty Hydrogen, is expected to involve the use of an electrolyser to produce hydrogen, powered by electricity sourced through either “blue” or “green” power purchase agreements.

Real Energy’s managing director, Scott Brown, said the Port Anthony project would open up opportunities for the company to develop hydrogen supplies for both local and overseas customers.

“Pure Hydrogen is pleased to be partnering with Port Anthony Renewables, and together, we are committed to building and operating a hydrogen plant at Port Anthony that encompasses best-of-breed hydrogen and fuel cell technology that is available today. This is an ideal site for a hydrogen hub with the necessary attributes to cater for both domestic and international markets,” Brown said.

“This agreement builds on our strategy of cooperating and collaborating with experienced operators to develop a significant Hydrogen business capable of servicing a large customer base. We are making solid progress securing site control at our other three planned hubs, as well as potential new locations, as well as advancing further technology and new customer agreements with further updates pending.”

The projects, planned for Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, will use a mix of renewable and fossil fuel energy sources to produce the hydrogen.

This followed the company announcing that it had struck a memorandum of understanding with US-based hydrogen vehicle manufacturer Hyzon to cooperate in the development and deployment of an Australian hydrogen refuelling network.

The parent company is set to adopt the name Pure Hydrogen following the completion of an approved merger with Strata-X Energy.

Real Energy shares were up around 8 per cent in early trading on Monday following the announcement.