Sydney: Worley has completed a strategic advisory study commissioned by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support planning and decision-making for the development of renewable hydrogen projects, Alchem Pro reported.
The study focuses on the capital costs associated with future renewable hydrogen production and examines practical measures that could bring those costs down over time, helping improve the commercial viability of projects.
Instead of relying mainly on conventional hydrogen cost projections based on broad learning-rate assumptions, the study assesses specific factors that could directly influence capital costs as the sector develops.
Worley’s Australia-based team, with support from the company’s global hydrogen and project delivery specialists, evaluated 24 independent concepts for reducing capital costs. Their combined impact was assessed across different future development horizons.
Transparency was a key focus of the work, allowing decision-makers to assess how individual cost-reduction measures interact and identify where the biggest opportunities may exist.
Christian Dorgelo, Associate, Advisory at Worley Consulting, said the study was designed to go beyond conventional hydrogen cost assessments by identifying the measures that could have a meaningful impact on capital costs.
“By breaking the problem down into individual levers and showing how they work together, the study provides insight that can directly inform strategic decisions,” he said.
The study has already contributed to executive-level discussions within ARENA and its wider planning activities.
Alexa Thompson, Strategy Lead for the study at ARENA, said the agency valued Worley’s collaborative and responsive approach, as well as the quality of the analysis and executive-level discussions supported by the team.
She said the project delivered an executive-ready analysis and a practical capital expenditure model that would continue to support ARENA’s work beyond the report.The study is intended to support ARENA’s efforts to address a key challenge for renewable hydrogen development by identifying specific and practical ways to translate the sector’s growth ambitions into commercially viable projects.
