Australian upstream and utility firm Origin Energy and Australian chemical and explosives firm Orica will study plans to develop a hydrogen hub in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales (NSW), which is Australia's largest thermal coal-producing area.
The Hunter Valley hydrogen hub would produce green hydrogen from sustainably sourced water and renewable electricity from Origin's portfolio, using a grid-connected 55MW electrolyser, Origin said.
The plan follows Origin's decision last month to close its 2,880MW Eraring black coal-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley region by August 2025, seven years earlier than its previous timetable.
Orica operates a chemical plant on Kooragang island at Newcastle, the port that ships thermal coal produced at mines in the Hunter Valley, where it can produce 350,000 t/yr of ammonia, 330,000 t/yr of nitric acid and 430,00 0t/yr of ammonium nitrate.
The project marks an important step in transitioning Orica's business model towards a lower-carbon economy, Orica chief executive officer Sanjeev Gandhi said.
The Hunter Valley hydrogen hub will look at producing ammonia from renewable sources and look into producing hydrogen for heavy vehicle and transport users, Origin said. The hydrogen produced could fuel trucking and passenger bus operations in the Hunter Valley, Central Coast and Greater Sydney regions of NSW and further support the NSW state government's target of having 10,000 fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) powered by hydrogen by the end of the decade, Origin said.
The hydrogen hub's project design will allow the hydrogen production facility to be scaled up through subsequent phases offering future expansion, including potential hydrogen export capability, it said.
Future stages will also include investigating the feasibility of converting the local gas distribution network to 100pc hydrogen to further support a hydrogen supply chain in the area, Origin said.
"Reducing emissions from Australia's manufacturing sector will be key to achieving the nation's ambition to be net zero emissions by 2050, and this will only be achieved if the energy industry, customers and governments work together to support the development of hydrogen as a future energy source," Origin chief executive officer Frank Calabria said.
Origin has announced other hydrogen ventures in Australia over the past 12 months, including plans to build a 420,000 t/yr export-oriented green ammonia production plant at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania with Japanese power producer J-Power.
Japanese oil refiner Eneos has a joint study with Origin Energy to explore a green hydrogen supply chain from Australia to Japan.
Separately, the Australian government said its Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) will provide A$22.8mn ($16.6mn) for Australian refiner Viva Energy to build a hydrogen cell refuelling station near its 128,000 b/d Geelong refinery in Victoria. The new refuelling station will also have EV battery recharging and traditional diesel refuelling infrastructure.
The government subsidy amounts to around half of Viva's A$43.3mn project, which will include 15 hydrogen electric heavy vehicles such as buses and wastewater and waste collection vehicles, Australian energy minister Angus Taylor said.
The hydrogen refuelling station will include a 2MW electrolyser and a 150kW EV charging facility, the minister said.
