(Bell Bay / Australia) – Australian energy supplier Abel Energy Pty Ltd and Iberdrola Australia have taken a step forward with their plans for the joint project to produce green hydrogen and methanol. The expression of interest process initiated by the state electricity supplier Hydro Tasmania in December 2022 has now resulted in an agreement for the sale of the Bell Bay power station, which was decommissioned in 2009, to the two companies' “Bell Bay Powerfuels” project. The location is the “Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone” in the north of the Australian island of Tasmania.
Abel Energy has presented the plans for the Bell Bay site in a graphic: (1) About six times a year, a methanol tanker loads 50.000 tons of renewable methanol for the national and international market. (2) The methanol is piped to on-site storage tanks with a capacity of over 50.000 tons. (3) Electrolyzers with a production capacity of 120 tons of green hydrogen per day. (4) Green hydrogen and synthesis gases are fed into a methanol reactor. (5) Methanol is also sold by tanker to customers in Tasmania. (6) Conversion of biomass to produce synthesis gas. (7) Every year, 500.000 tons of biomass from forestry are delivered and unloaded at the biomass terminal. (8) Wood chips are fed to the synthesis gas production via a conveyor belt. © Abel Energy
With the selection of the location, project development will now be accelerated; preliminary planning for the “Front-End Engineering and Design” (FEED) will begin “in a few months,” says Abel. A $1,3 million feasibility study has already been completed. Iberdrola estimates the total capital requirement to be in the order of 1,7 billion Australian dollars (1,07 billion euros).
The construction of the facilities will employ around 500 people; 2027 to 250 local workers will be required for later operation from 300, and 150 indirect jobs will be created locally. In the first phase of the project, hydrogen will be generated in a 240 megawatt electrolysis unit and used to produce 200.000 tons of green methanol per year. In the second phase, a capacity of 300.000 tons is planned.
The required renewable energy systems with an installed capacity of probably 700 megawatts - including hydropower and wind energy - are being developed by Iberdrola and Abel. In addition, the gasification of biomass from forestry waste is planned (“wood gasification”). The resulting synthesis gas is required for methanol production.
The Tasmanian government supports the project
Hydro Tasmania's Bell Bay power station was originally oil-fired when it began operation in 1971 and was later converted to natural gas. It had its own deep-water berth for supply from oil tankers. This still exists and is used by Bell Bay Powerfuels to export green methanol. Some buildings - especially the power plant block - will be demolished, others should be retained and repurposed if possible.
Bell Bay Power Station: The power station was commissioned in 1971 and decommissioned in 2009. © Wikimedia CC BY 1.0
Tasmania's Liberal government under Jeremy Rockliff welcomes the plan: Tasmania, with its world-class wind resources, is "an ideal location" for the large-scale production of competitive renewable methanol and hydrogen, said Energy Minister Guy Barnett. Michael van Baarle, co-founder and chief executive of Abel Energy, said local production of green methanol to fuel global shipping would be “a huge win for all Tasmanians, particularly the communities of the Tamar Valley in George Town and Launceston”.
Other companies have also expressed interest in hydrogen production in Bell Bay in recent years. For example, the Australian oil and gas company Woodside Energy Ltd., Tasmanian Ports Corporation Pty Ltd. and Fortescue Future Industries Pty Ltd (FFI) are partly collaborating to develop electrolyzers with capacities up to the gigawatt range.
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Abel Energy and Iberdrola plan to produce hydrogen and methanol at the site of the decommissioned Bell Bay power plant. © Abel Energy
