On-site renewable hydrogen electrolyser to help power WA gold mine

Brisbane-based Line Hydrogen will develop a “zero carbon” renewable energy power system for a new mining project in the Western Australia goldfields region that will combine solar, wind and an on-site green hydrogen production plant.

The project, which Line Hydrogen describes as the “culmination of years of work,” was kicked off with a memorandum of understanding between Line Hydrogen and Blue Cap Mining, to meet the energy requirements of the Lord Byron Gold Mine.

The MoU, announced on Monday, will see Line Hydrogen design, develop and operate renewable technologies at the site to replace fossil fuel-based power generation.

The resulting zero carbon microgrid will include a green hydrogen production plant to provide green power to the Lord Byron operation when there’s not enough wind or sun.

Line says the green hydrogen plant will also be used to replace diesel in the mine’s operations, including to power mining equipment and fuel generators and vehicles.

The company says the hydrogen will be produced with 100% renewable energy, using a process called electrolysis, from which the only byproducts are drinking water and medical-grade oxygen.

A company spokesperson told RenewEconomy on Monday that the renewable energy generation would come from a mix of solar and wind, although exactly what capacity of each was not yet confirmed.

Line says the mix of renewable power and green hydrogen will produce around 49GW of power each year, displacing around 13.2 million litres of diesel that would typically be consumed each year in the course of normal operations.

Development of the hybrid renewable power plant, which is slated to begin early next year, is expected to result in an additional 150 full-time jobs in the region including highly skilled and unskilled opportunities.

A foothold in the WA goldfields market

“Our partnership with Blue Cap encompasses the vision Line Hydrogen set out to achieve some 7-8 years ago, said the company’s founder and exective chair, Brendan James.

“The partnership will utilise our green hydrogen production, as well as technology designed by Line to power on-site mining and processing equipment, and on-road heavy haulage.

“Not only is Blue Cap leading the industry in its ambition of zero-carbon renewable power, this move will, I believe, also lower overall costs of operation, increasing returns from the project.

“For Line Hydrogen, the partnership provides guaranteed offtake for the latest project in [our]… portfolio, and also a forward step in supplying green hydrogen into the greater WA goldfields region.”

Ashley Fraser, managing director of Blue Cap Mining says the project is expected to complete the pre-feasibility phase by the end of 2022, with bankable feasibility status milestones set for 2023 and construction likely to begin within an 18-month period.

“As a relatively small industry participant, we are leveraging our corporate agility and can-do attitude to adapt faster and more efficiently,” James said.

“With Line Hydrogen as a partner in this project we will explore, develop and accelerate our renewable energy use aspirations displacing the alternative of fossil fuels with the added benefit of potentially lowering our cost of production quite significantly.”

Line’s commercial-scale green hydrogen plans

Earlier this year, Line Hydrogen announced plans to build its first commercial-scale green hydrogen plant in Tasmania, after securing a supply agreement from a small solar project that will power the production of green hydrogen to be used as a diesel fuel replacement in heavy haulage and mining activities.

Line Hydrogen, backed by Victorian renewable investment firm Climate Capital, will source power for a hydrogen electrolyser from the 5MW Bell Bay Solar Farm, which will be the first utility scale solar facility on the island state.

At the time, Line’s Brendan James told James said the Tassie renewable hydrogen project was just one of a number being considered around the country in conjunction with Climate Capital, including a similar sized project near Toowoomba in south-east Queensland.