Japan’s Osaka Gas backs $11 billion green hydrogen project in Australia
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Osaka Fuel Co Ltd mentioned on Tuesday it would present technical assist for a $10.75 billion inexperienced hydrogen challenge within the Australian outback and can think about potential funding in future.
The Desert Bloom Hydrogen challenge, backed by Singapore-based Sanguine Affect Funding Group, will use a singular expertise to suck water out of the air and solar energy to separate the water to make inexperienced hydrogen – hydrogen generated by renewable vitality – within the Northern Territory’s desert.
Osaka Fuel has agreed to contribute challenge administration, engineering and technical assist for the challenge, handle hydrogen gross sales and negotiate with tools producers, the challenge’s developer, Aqua Aerem, mentioned.
“We might spend money on the challenge sooner or later, however there isn’t any concrete funding plan from our finish now,” a spokesperson on the Japanese utility mentioned, including it would present technical assist by leveraging its experience in gasoline manufacturing and hydrogen-related companies.
“We additionally hope to achieve new data about hydrogen growth by our participation on this challenge,” she mentioned.
If it goes forward as deliberate, the challenge could possibly be the primary producer of inexperienced hydrogen in Australia, planning to start out up in 2023, whereas a raft of different tasks are nonetheless operating feasibility research.
Desert Bloom will begin small, utilizing Aqua Aerem’s 2 megawatt manufacturing items, which the corporate says can generate water from the air, and produce warmth, renewable electrical energy and inexperienced hydrogen.
The preliminary work, which the corporate mentioned in December would price A$1 billion ($743 million), will produce 1,000 kg/day of hydrogen, or 2% of the challenge’s full stage 1 goal.
Finally, to get to its goal of 410,000 tonnes a yr of hydrogen for native use and exports, the challenge will scale as much as 4,000 modular items, driving down manufacturing prices.
“Desert Bloom can be on observe to supply inexperienced hydrogen at an export value worldwide prospects wish to pay – lower than $2/kg inside 5 years,” Aqua Aerem Chairman David Inexperienced mentioned in a press release.
The Northern Territory authorities awarded the challenge “main challenge” standing in December, placing it on a quick observe for acquiring approvals.
($1 = 1.3459 Australian {dollars})
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Extra reporting by Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo; Enhancing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Susan Fenton)
