(Tennant Creek / Australia) – The Japanese utility Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. is entering the Australian project called “Desert Bloom Hydrogen” to produce green hydrogen on an industrial scale. The group offers both financial participation and know-how in plant planning as well as technological and logistical support. 
Desert Bloom consists of numerous modular “Hydrogen Production Units” (HPU) with an output of two megawatts each, which each generate electricity, water and hydrogen. Each unit has a photovoltaic system, an electrolyzer and a system that extracts water from the atmosphere even in environments with low humidity.
According to the company, commercial operations will start in 2023 with around 400 tons of hydrogen annually. According to the plans, when the project is completed in 2027, around 4.000 of these devices will produce around 410.000 tons of hydrogen per year. 1.000 jobs would be created during the construction phase, and at least 120 full-time jobs would later be created for operation and maintenance.
Hydrogen production in the outback
Tennant Creek in the outback of the Northern Territory is named as the location for the project. The community of 3.500 people is conveniently located on the Stuart Highway, a main artery in the country that connects the continent from Darwin in the north to Adelaide, more than 3.000 kilometers away, in the south. There is also a railway line to the port of Darwin, a hub for Asian export markets, as well as connections to a gas pipeline.
The project will be built on a site directly adjacent to regional utility Territory Generation's existing 19-megawatt gas-fired power plant. At least in the initial phase, this will take hydrogen from Desert Bloom production. The investments are estimated at around 10,75 billion US dollars (9,96 billion euros). The production costs for green hydrogen should ultimately fall to less than two dollars per kilogram.
The state supports the project
The state government supports Desert Bloom, it is said, and has already given it the status of a “major project,” which, among other things, speeds up the application and approval process from the authorities.
The sponsor of “Desert Bloom Hydrogen” is Aqua Aerem Pty Ltd. The Australian Sanguine Impact Investment Group holds an 84 percent stake in the company. This is part of the “Small Giants” cosmos, a group that wants to transfer investments from conventional businesses into sustainable and socially acceptable projects as well as renewable energies.
deep link
https://www.osakagas.co.jp/en/whatsnew/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2022/04/12/220412_2.pdf
Photos
The now historic “Tennant Creek Telegraph Station” from 1872 changed life in the gold rush town. Now a consortium wants to establish a large-scale hydrogen production project in the region, which should give the community another economic boost. © Northern Territory Government of Australia
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Tennant Creek in Northern Territory, Australia. © Wikipedia (creative commons license)
