Global Consortium Invests A$117m in Australian Green Hydrogen Project

A consortium of Japanese, Singaporean, and Australian companies has invested A$117 million in one of Australia’s largest green hydrogen projects.

The consortium’s investment is funding a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study for the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project (CQ-H2).

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The project involves using renewable energy to produce green hydrogen on a large scale. If progressed, the project aims to generate 200 tonnes of green hydrogen per day by 2029. This will ramp up to 800 tonnes per day by 2031. In the initial phase, green hydrogen is proposed to be supplied to an ammonia production facility in Gladstone and in later phases will be liquefied and exported to Japan.

At its peak, the project will support 3,100 jobs. The project will create an average of 1,000 new jobs annually and deliver A$14.5 billion in hydrogen exports over its 30-year life. It will also benefit the construction, utilities, heavy manufacturing, and local service industries.

Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, says: ‘The Government is committed to making Australia a global hydrogen leader, and projects like the CQ-H2 Project could lead the way in exporting renewable hydrogen to the international market.’

Support from the Australian and Queensland Governments

Members of the consortium are:

• Iwatani Corporation (Japan)

• Marubeni Corporation (Japan)

• Keppel (Singapore)

• Stanwell Corporation (Queensland state-owned energy provider, Australia)

The Australian Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), provided A$20 million towards the CQ-H2 project. The Queensland State Government contributed A$15 million from its Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund.

The project was included in 6 shortlisted applicants and invited to submit a full application in the next stage of the A$2 billion Hydrogen Headstart Program.

The proposed project involves developing a hydrogen production facility and a hydrogen liquefaction facility, both based at Gladstone in regional Queensland. The two sites will be connected by a 25-kilometre hydrogen gas pipeline.

The green hydrogen is planned to be supplied to an ammonia production facility in the Gladstone region, which is being developed by Australian chemical manufacturer Incitec Pivot and Keppel. Ammonia is expected to be supplied to Incitec Pivot’s domestic operations and exported to Asia.

Final Investment Decision (FID) for Phase 1 is planned for mid-2025 and commercial operations targeted to commence in 2029.

A Regional Green Hydrogen Hub

Gladstone is one of the best regions in Australia to produce and export green hydrogen. The region has abundant renewable energy sources, a well-developed and sizeable port, and is at an advantageous distance to Asian markets. The Australian Government has designated the region as a hydrogen hub.

CQ-H2 has also received grant funding from the Federal Government’s Regional Hydrogen Hubs Funding program.

The Queensland Government also has a target to reach 80% renewable energy by 2035. This will expand the state’s renewable energy sources and the transmission and distribution networks that are essential for green hydrogen production.

Austrade will continue to support the global consortium for further project development.

Support from Austrade

Austrade’s Japan and Singapore teams have been providing ongoing support around sector opportunities and funding initiatives since 2019-2020.

This included:

• introductions among consortium partners and their local Australian JV partner

• identification of offtake opportunities

• advice on policies, incentives and government funding support

• extensive analysis on cost-structure and insights on supply chain development

• facilitation of site visits, networking events and business matching meetings