(London/Perth) – The oil company BP plc is participating in one of the world's largest green hydrogen production projects. According to their own statements, the British are taking over 40,5 percent of the shares in the “Asian Renewable Energy Hub” (AREH) in the Pilbara region on the Indian Ocean in the Australian state of Western Australia. From July 1, 2022, the group will also be responsible for operational management.
Center for renewable energy and green hydrogen
When fully developed, AREH could produce 1,6 million tonnes of green hydrogen or nine million tonnes of green ammonia annually for the Australian domestic market and export to large international customers. It would be one of the largest green hydrogen projects in the world. Previous communications mentioned electrolyzers with an output of 14 gigawatts, which also use desalinated seawater.
The infrastructure includes not only production facilities and pipelines, but also an offshore export platform. The consortium wants to install photovoltaic and onshore wind farms with a capacity of 6.500 gigawatts (GW) on the 26 square kilometer site. This corresponds to an electricity generation potential of over 90 terawatt hours per year - around a third of all electricity generated in Australia in 2021.
However, the income from the new power plants not only serves to produce hydrogen, but also to supply the local market. Pilbara is an energy-intensive mining region with significant carbon emissions. At full capacity, AREH is expected to help save approximately 17 million tons of carbon annually.
Changeable history
The project, which a number of companies have been working on since 2014, has already had an eventful history. In October 2020, the central government in Canberra under then Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave the Asian Renewable Energy Hub the status of a major project (“Major status“), which significantly speeds up the approval process.
In June 2021, however, they refused Environment Minister the same government, Sussan Ley, gave the project its place. A plan submitted to the ministry had “unacceptable ecological impacts,” it said. The plans contradict the national Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC).
This assessment not only led to disagreements with industry and national associations, but also to disagreements with the government of Western Australia. The companies then announced a revision of the plans.
In October 2021, the government allocated 150 million Australian dollars (93 million euros) under the “Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hubs“ for the establishment of hydrogen hubs at seven locations in the country, bringing the total for this program to 464 million dollars (287 million euros). Last year, Morrison left it open exactly which projects would be supported with the funds. But the Pilbara was also specifically mentioned.
The consortium
In addition to BP, the members of the AREH consortium also include the green hydrogen producer Intercontinental Energy (26,4 percent), the renewable energy developer CWP Global (17,8 percent) and the Green Investment Group (15,3 percent). from the Australian financial services provider and investor Macquarie.
In an earlier statement, the Aborigines who traditionally own Nyangumarta County, as well as the wind turbine manufacturer Vestas and the Energy Change Institute of the Australian National University (ANU) were also named as those involved in the plans.
Ammonia sales are scheduled to start in 2027
“AREH will be one of the largest hubs for renewable energy and green hydrogen in the 
“We can be a world leader and can make a significant contribution to the energy transition in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region,” said Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, Executive Vice President of Gas and Low Carbon Energy at BP. She is also convinced that AREH will also help countries such as South Korea and Japan decarbonize.
The initiators want to build the projects in several sections. The investment costs for renewable energy power plants with an initial output of 15 gigawatts were put at 36 billion Australian dollars (24 billion euros) in previous reports. There was talk of $50 billion for the final expansion. According to media reports, the consortium wants to deliver green ammonia from 2027.
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AREH location on the Indian Ocean in Western Australia. © BP plc
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Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, Executive Vice President of Gas and Low Carbon Energy at BP © BP plc
