Out-Law News 1 min. read
Queensland green hydrogen project gets government funding for FEED study
30 Jun 2022, 1:39 am
The state government of Queensland, Australia has committed to provide A$15 million (US$10.3m) to support a green hydrogen project in Gladstone.
The funding will be allocated from Queensland’s A$2 billion renewable energy and hydrogen jobs fund and will go towards the front and engineering and design (FEED) study for the project.
The project, once operational, will use renewable energy to produce hydrogen, liquefy it at the Gladstone port in Queensland, and then export the liquefied hydrogen to Japan. It includes a large-scale renewable hydrogen production facility at Aldoga near Gladstone and a liquefaction and shipping facility at the Port of Gladstone.
The FEED study will last 12 months, and a final investment decision on the project will be made in late 2023. Once built, the plant will produce 800 tonnes clean green hydrogen each day by early 2030s.
Renewables expert Karah Howard of Pinsent Masons said: “With FEED study funding from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) approved, and additional funding from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) pending, this Queensland project for production and export of liquid hydrogen from the Port of Gladstone to Japan is making a determinative step towards the two nations’ goals recorded in the Australia-Japan ‘Joint Statement on the Cooperation on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells’. “
“The project will encourage growth of renewable energy in the region, where ARENA states that Australia’s existing expertise and infrastructure in energy export supply chains and proximity to emerging hydrogen import markets in Asia, together with established trade relationships, gives Australia a competitive advantage. Project partners include APA Group – APT Management Services, Iwatani Corporation, Kansai Electric Power Company (KEPCO), Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Marubeni Corporation, and METI,” she said.
The developers of the project are Stanwell, Iwatani Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kansai Electric Power Company, Marubeni Corporation, and Australian energy infrastructure company APA Group. They started the project feasibility study in September 2021.
The Queensland renewable energy and hydrogen jobs fund enables energy government-owned companies to increase their share of ownership of commercial renewable energy and hydrogen projects and supporting infrastructure, including working with the private sector.
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