Stanwell and international consortium progress large-scale renewable hydrogen project in Gladstone
Summary
On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $20 million in funding to Stanwell Corporation Limited (Stanwell) to support a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for a large-scale renewable hydrogen project in Gladstone, Queensland.The $117 million project will finalise the development stage of the Central Queensland Hydrogen (CQ-H2) Project, which will initially involve the installation of up to 640 MW of electrolysers to produce hydrogen for commercial operations commencing in 2028. Along with Stanwell, the consortium members include Iwatani Corporation (Iwatani), Kansai Electric Power Company (Kansai), Keppel Infrastructure (Keppel) and Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni).Stanwell and a number of consortium members completed a feasibility study for the project in June 2022, which received $2.16 million in ARENA funding and showed the project is technically feasible and could be commercially viable with appropriate government support in the initial phases. The FEED study will leverage the outcomes of the feasibility study to develop the preferred technical, commercial and social requirements for the project to enable a final investment decision, and eventual construction and commissioning.The project is uniquely placed to explore the potential of a large-scale renewable hydrogen production facility that could be used to decarbonise Gladstones existing industrial base and create an export industry.Both the hydrogen production and liquefaction facilities will be grid connected, supported by Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Queensland wind and solar farms, provided through Stanwells renewable energy portfolio.ARENA CEO Darren Miller said Australia is well positioned to capitalise on export opportunities to Asia, however, unlocking it will require the rapid development of substantial hydrogen production and export facilities at a globally cost competitive price point.Stanwells project represents a near-term renewable hydrogen production opportunity at globally significant scale. This understanding is critical to scaling up hydrogen production in Australia and developing both the domestic and export industry for renewable hydrogen in line with Australias ambitions, Mr Miller said.Stanwell CEO Michael ORourke said: We are immensely grateful for the continued support that ARENA has provided to the CQ-H2 project. Their support has been instrumental in getting us to this important point, and this funding will be a vital foundation for the next steps of this journey on which we continue to move forward together empowering Australias hydrogen economy.The FEED study is expected to be completed by mid 2024.