(Brisbane / Australia) – Mining magnate Andrew Forest's Fortescue Future Industries Pty Ltd (FFI) and Australian project developer Windlab Pty. Ltd. are working together on a “super hub” in Australia: According to the information, wind and solar power plants with an output of more than ten gigawatts are to be built in the northwest of the state of Queensland. The proceeds are used, among other things, to produce green hydrogen.
Construction starts in 2025
The first phase of the project is currently in detailed planning. It includes the 800 megawatt “Prairie” wind farm with around 100 turbines and the 1.000 megawatt “Wongalee” project. The application for the first site near the rural community of Prairie, about 300 kilometers southwest of the coastal city of Townsville, will be submitted to authorities "in the coming months." There are already land agreements for the use of pasture land. Subject to approval, construction is expected to begin in 2025, and the systems are expected to produce electricity from 2027.
“Super Hub” offers “significant opportunities”
“Australia’s natural resources, including wind, solar and landmass, are unrivaled in their potential for the production of green energy – particularly green hydrogen,” said FFI chief executive Marc Hutchinson. “The North Queensland Super Hub will, for the first time, provide the amount of renewable energy we need for large-scale production of green hydrogen right here in Queensland.” The resulting environmental and economic opportunities are “significant”, both in in terms of reducing emissions and reducing dependence on fossil fuels, as well as creating local jobs.
Research commissioned by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) found potential for green hydrogen exports of over three million tonnes per year by 2040. However, there is still a lack of electricity from renewable energies in its industrial production.
However, the yield will not only be used to produce hydrogen on a scale not yet disclosed by FFI. Once the project is operational, one in six households in Queensland will be powered by renewable electricity. The connection of the systems to transmission networks creates location advantages for the local communities.
2 GW electrolyser manufacturing plant in Gladstone
The announcement of the Super Hub comes as FFI invests in building the world's largest electrolyser manufacturing facility in Gladstone on the east coast of the continent, half a day's journey from Praerie. The first phase of Fortescue Future Industries' new Green Energy Manufacturing Center (GEM) opened with a mandatory groundbreaking ceremony in February this year.
Groundbreaking ceremony for the “H2 Hub” in Gladstone, Queensland with FFI boss Andrew Forrest (3rd from left). © FFI
Investment for the first stage amounts to 114 million Australian dollars (74 million euros). The output of the electrolyzers is initially estimated at two gigawatts, which could produce 200.000 tons of green hydrogen per year. An expansion is possible as demand increases. The multi-gigawatt-scale electrolyser factory is a 50:50 joint venture between FFI and US-based Plug Power Inc.
Photo above
Windlab wind farm. © Windlab
Photo middle
Groundbreaking ceremony for the “H2 Hub” in Gladstone, Queensland with FFI boss Andrew Forrest (3rd from left). © FFI
