WA green hydrogen player buys solar farm to power new electrolyser plans

The Perth-based company behind the massive Arrowsmith renewable hydrogen project proposed for Western Australia has unveiled plans for a second, much smaller project, that would build a 10MW electrolyser alongside an existing solar farm in WA’s Avon region.

Infinite Blue Energy revealed its new green hydrogen electrolyser plans on Thursday alongside the news that it had agreed to acquire the 11MW Northam solar farm, a project jointly owned by Indigenous Business Australia and Bookitja, a part of Noongar Property Holdings.

The company said that it had been working for several months on the purchase of the grid-connected solar farm, located in Northam roughly 90km north-east of Perth, and had executed a sales asset agreement on Monday.

Infinite Blue Energy said it would leverage the existing solar farm, adding a 10MW hydrogen electrolyser and battery storage to produce up to 4 tonnes a day of zero-emissions renewable hydrogen.

The proposed facility, which will be known as MEG PH1, will also include a trucking offload terminal that will enable the supply of local back-to-base operations with future expansion to form part of a future zero emissions highway.

The company said on LinkedIn that hydrogen produced by MEG PH1 would be used partially by WA based waste management companies for refuse collection vehicles and in fleet vehicles local to region, with MOUs in place and “binding contracts” being negotiated.

“This transaction with the owners of the Northam solar farm underlines our commitment to producing hydrogen only from renewable sources,” chief executive officer Stephen Gauld told Stockhead.

“Leveraging existing renewable infrastructure will enable us to deliver the project more quickly and deliver more value for IBE shareholders.”

WA’s minister for hydrogen, Alannah MacTiernan, said transport was one of four strategic focus areas outlined in the state’s Renewable Hydrogen Strategy, which has been backed by $160 million in funding from the McGowan government.

“Infinite Blue Energy’s MEG HP1 project is yet another positive step forward for renewable hydrogen in WA, and will play an important role in helping to stimulate early demand for hydrogen,” MacTiernan said.

“We see enormous potential for locally-generated renewable hydrogen to replace diesel in our heavy transport sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and improving our fuel security.

“Indeed transport fuel probably offers one of the earliest opportunities for the emerging renewable hydrogen industry.”

IBE chairman Peter Coleman said MEG HP1 was expected to be a game-changing project for Infinite Blue Energy, and lead the way towards its much bigger Arrowsmith project, which aims – initially – to produce around 25 tonnes of renewable hydrogen a day for the mobility sector.

For the Arrowsmith project – which in late 2020 won a commitment from WA utility Western Power to undertake initial studies for new transmission network link to the proposed site, 300km north of Perth – the hydrogen would be produced using a mix of solar (65MW) and wind (90MW).

IBE has also selected engineering-firm Petrofac to provide Engineering, Construction and Procurement services for Arrowsmith and, in August of 2020, flagged plans to list on the Australian Stock Exchange.

IBE’s projects are two among an increasing number of green hydrogen projects being considered for Western Australia, including the huge Asian Renewable Energy Hub, which could become one of the world’s largest energy projects, with as much as 26GW of wind and solar capacity being considered as part of a plan to export green hydrogen into the Asian region.

As a footnote, the Northam solar farm last appeared on RenewEconomy’s pages in December of last year, as part of PepsiCo Australia’s switch to 100 per cent renewable electricity via a mix of power purchase agreements with French renewables giant, Engie, and with the Indigenous-owned Northam.

IBA’s Stella de Cos said at the time that the PPA – the project’s first – would provide returns that would be reinvested to benefit and create investment opportunities for Indigenous Australians. It’s unclear what will happen with that PPA should the sale of Northam go ahead.