Australia has approved the 50-megawatt Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub in Newcastle, marking the country’s largest green hydrogen project to reach a final investment decision and the first to move into construction under the government’s Hydrogen Headstart programme.
The project, being developed by mining and infrastructure company Orica, is located on Kooragang Island in New South Wales alongside the company’s existing ammonia manufacturing facility, Asian Power reported.
The hydrogen hub will use renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen through electrolysis. The renewable hydrogen will gradually replace natural gas in the production of low-carbon ammonia and ammonium nitrate, supporting the decarbonisation of Orica’s operations.
Once fully operational, the facility is expected to produce around 4,700 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually, reducing Orica’s natural gas consumption at Kooragang Island by approximately 7.5%. The emissions reduction is estimated to be equivalent to removing about 26,500 cars from Australian roads each year.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed AU$432 million in production credits to the project under the Hydrogen Headstart programme, providing financial support to help accelerate Australia’s green hydrogen industry.
Technology provider Plug Power will supply its GenEco proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers for the project. The company already has an operational electrolyser in Townsville and another hydrogen project under development in Chinchilla, Queensland.
