(Brisbane / Australia) – American-Australian technology group Worley has been commissioned to produce the FEED (front-end engineering and design) study to implement what is described as “Australia's largest renewable hydrogen project”. “We were already involved in the project in an advisory capacity during the first phase of the feasibility study. Now our task is to prepare the FEED study for the hydrogen production plant and the hydrogen transfer plant,” Worley said in the statement.
Stanwell and Worley representatives signing the FEED advanced study agreement. © Stanwell Corp. Ltd.
A consortium led by the state energy supplier Stanwell Corp. is involved in the project called “Central Queensland Hydrogen” (CQ-H2). Ltd. involved. These include the APA Group (gas infrastructure, Australia) and Iwatani Corp. (Industrial Gases, Japan), Kansai Electric Power Company (Energy Utilities, Japan), Marubeni Corp. (investor and trading group, Japan) and the conglomerate Keppel Infrastructure (Singapore).
Electrolyzer output of 2,2 gigawatts possible
Initially, the installation of electrolyzers with an output of up to 640 megawatts is planned. According to Stanwell, the production capacity is 200 tons per day. Customers would convert the gas into renewable ammonia or liquid hydrogen to make it easier to transport. The energy source is to be used partly in Queensland itself, but primarily to be delivered to Japan and Singapore, which explains the Asian project participants.
The start of operations is planned for 2028. If the project is successful, it will be ramped up in further phases to an electrolyzer output of around 2031 megawatts by 2.240, which could produce 800 tons of green hydrogen every day.
Location of Gladstone, Queensland. © Acciona Energia
The property in the uninhabited Aldoga region near Gladstone on Australia's east coast was secured in April 2021. Two months later, the first funding commitment for the feasibility study was made by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), followed by the release of further funding by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The hydrogen will be produced using solar power from a nearby Acciona PV power plant. © Worley
A newly built “Aldoga Solar Farm” will provide the electricity for the green hydrogen. The photovoltaic system was announced in 2019 by the Australian subsidiary of the Spanish project developer Acciona Energia with an installed capacity of 250 megawatts; an expansion to up to 600 megawatts was planned. At the time, construction was said to start in 2022; Acciona estimated the investment at 500 million Australian dollars (311 million euros) and the construction time at 18 months.
PV power plant with 445 megawatts
At the end of 2021, Stanwell signed an agreement with Acciona for the purchase of solar power. The capacity to be installed on land owned by the state development company Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) was given in December of that year as 487 megawatts based on new estimates, but was later reduced to 445 megawatts when it became clear that the power plant would not be directly connected to Stanwell CQ-H2. Project must be connected, but the solar power can be fed into the general power grid via an existing substation - which, according to Acciona, accelerates the development. The start of construction is now “2023/2024”, with completion expected in 2025.
Infrastructure planning: The hydrogen will be piped to the port of Gladstone for further processing and export. © Stanwell Corp. Ltd.
The first phase of the feasibility study was completed in June 2022. In May 2023, there were further financing commitments from the consortium partners and ARENA in order to enable the final investment decision (FID) to be made as soon as possible with the following FEED study. The project is supported by government funding from ARENA and the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund. At its peak, it is expected to create more than 8.900 new jobs and generate $17,2 billion in sales from hydrogen exports. In addition, there will be revenue for the state of a projected $12,4 billion over the 30-year term.
Photos
Rendering of the planned hydrogen complex in Aldoga, 20 kilometers west of Gladstone in the Australian state of Queensland. The factory will be built in two phases. © Stanwell Corp. Ltd.
