Frontier Energy’s plans to produce green hydrogen using renewable energy sourced from the potential 500 MW Bristol Springs Solar project it is developing in Western Australia have received a significant boost after a study revealed that the cost of producing hydrogen could be as low as $2.85 per kilogram.
The results of a prefeasibility study (PFS) on Frontier Energy’s proposed Bristol Springs Solar (BSS) project in Western Australia’s South West area indicate the development has the potential to be an early mover, low-cost green hydrogen producer.
Frontier announced on Thursday that the PFS, which was undertaken by Perth-based consulting firm Xodus Group, is predicated on the creation of a large-scale green hydrogen production facility at Bristol Springs, with power coming from the company’s proposed first-stage 114 MWdc solar farm.
A 36.6 MW alkaline electrolyser would be powered by solar energy, producing an estimated 4.4 million kg of green hydrogen per year. Estimated capital costs for the solar farm are $166,3 million, while electrolyzer installation is estimated to cost approximately $69.9 million.
The analysis predicts a total unit cost of $2.83 per kilogram of produced hydrogen, which, according to Frontier, “places the project among Australia’s least expensive green hydrogen producers.”
The planned cost of production also places the project within reach of its economic objective of manufacturing green hydrogen for $2 per kilogram, a price at which it is anticipated to be cost-competitive with gas produced from fossil fuels.
