(Townsville / Australia) – The Australian Ark Energy Corporation Pty Ltd, which specializes in wind, solar energy and hydrogen, has commissioned Thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH to prepare a feasibility study for an ammonia project in the Australian state of Queensland. This includes a technical-economic analysis of the value chain from electricity generation to ammonia production based on a production method developed by the German group, which is not described in more detail.
The aim is to evaluate the influence of various factors on the economic viability of the green ammonia plant and to examine several scenarios for optimizing the plant concepts, according to the company. Thyssenkrupp Uhde will also contribute technology, know-how and engineering services.
1,8 million tons of ammonia for Korea
Ark Energy leads the “Hanguk-Hoju Hydrogen” (Han-Ho H2022) consortium, which was founded in September 2. “Hanguk” is the Korean name for “Korea”, “Hoju” stands for Australia. This is a joint project between the Korean conglomerates Hanwha Impact Co. Ltd. and Korea Zinc Co. Ltd. and SK Gas. “The goal is to build a green energy supply chain by 2030, exporting 1,8 million tons of green ammonia from Australia to Korea annually,” said Daniel Kim, chief executive officer at Ark Energy, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc.
At the signing of the joint agreement in Seoul, company representatives (seated at the table from left) from Ark Energy, Hanwha Impact, Korea Zinc and SK Gas were joined by (standing from left) Young-ghil Cheon, Deputy Minister for Energy Policy at the Ministry of Commerce , Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, and Annastacia Palaszczuk, Premier of Queensland in attendance. © Ark Energy
In July, the companies signed a heads of agreement in Seoul in the presence of political representatives from both countries, according to which Ark Energy wants to advance the “Han-Ho H2” hub until feasibility is determined. The study is scheduled to be completed by March 2024. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, also present at the signing, said the north of her state should become an “export hub for hydrogen and minerals”. The government is investing $8,5 million (5,1 million euros) in the “Abbot Point Hydrogen Activation Initiative”.
The deep-sea port of Abbot Point in Queensland, around 50 kilometers from the Great Barrier Reef, which previously specialized in coal exports, is to be expanded into a hydrogen export center. © Abbot Point Operations
Abbot Point, whose deep-water port has specialized in coal shipping since 1984, will be expanded into a hydrogen export center. “The investment will also support planning for the water and energy supplies required for large-scale hydrogen production in North Queensland,” the Premier said. Related: Ark Energy wants to build the “Collinsville Green Energy Hub” in the region 100 kilometers west of Abbot Point, a 7,5 billion Australian dollar (4,4 billion euro) wind and solar farm with a planned installed capacity of three Gigawatts.
The “Han-Ho H2” consortium
Hanwha Impact is a holding company within the Hanwha Group, whose key businesses include solar, energy, defense, aerospace and retail. Hanwha Impact's main mission is to accelerate the group's transition to carbon neutrality. The company bought the two H2021 technology companies PSM and Thomassen Energy in 2. In July, Hanwha Impact reported that they had jointly developed and tested a gas turbine with an output of 80 megawatts that runs on liquefied natural gas and an admixture of around 60 percent hydrogen - the highest mixing ratio that had been achieved in a commercially operated gas turbine to date .
Korea Zinc Co. Ltd. is the world's largest zinc producer and, according to its own information, was "the first major refinery operator" to join the "RE100" program of the Climate Group, which currently includes 400 companies from around the world and all sectors, to run its operations entirely on renewable energy by 2050 take care of. South Korea has also joined the group - but according to the Climate Group, it is only at the very beginning compared to its neighbors in Asia: the country's companies only get two percent of their electricity from renewables (China 32 percent, Singapore 26 percent, Japan 15 percent ; as of March 2023).
SK Gas, a leader in the Korean liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets, aims to become a “Net Zero Solution Provider”. SK Gas recently built an LNG terminal and a power plant that burns both LNG and LPG. The terminal and power plant are expected to be operational from 2024. Facilities and infrastructure will be used to build a business with clean hydrogen and ammonia.
Korea Zinc plans in Queensland
The Korea Zinc subsidiary already had in the summer of 2020 Sun Metals Corp. explains that it wants to set up hydrogen production based on renewable energies in Townsville, 200 kilometers north of Abbot Point. In the first expansion stage, the project called “SunHQ H2” includes a PEM electrolyser supplied by the US company Plug Power Inc. with an output of one megawatt, along with a compressor and storage. The electricity for electrolysis comes from the “Sun Metals Solar Farm”, which is located about 15 kilometers south of Townsville and has an output of 124 megawatts.
Sun Metals zinc refinery in Townsville: The Korea Zinc subsidiary wants to produce hydrogen using solar power. © Sun Metals
SunHQ is receiving $3,02 million in funding from the Queensland Government and a $12,5 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency ARENA. The Australian federal government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has committed a further $XNUMX million.
In July 2021, the US car manufacturer Hyzon Motors Inc. announced that it would sell five hydrogen-powered 154-ton “road trains” to Ark Energy subsidiary Townsville Logistics Pty Ltd. deliver, which will replace the same number of diesel trucks. They will operate on the approximately 30 kilometer long route between the zinc refinery of Sun Metals, the largest employer in North Queensland, and the port of Townsville.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (centre) at the Sun Metals Green Industrial Precinct in Townsville with (from left) Ark Energy CEO Daniel Kim, Queensland Senator Nita Green, Ark Energy Deputy Chairwoman Kathy Danaher and Ron Lee, CEO and Michael Choi, CFO of Sun Metals. © Ark Energy
In January this year, during a visit to Ark Energy and Sun Metals, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced his government would support Queensland's green hydrogen industry with a $70 million investment in the development of a hydrogen hub in Townsville. The region's port facilities, workforce capacity and proximity to Asian trading partners made it “an ideal location for a green hydrogen center.”
Photo above
Rendering of the planned ammonia factory. © Thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH
