The belief was that we had advanced in our own technology, that the intellectual property belonged to us, and that we could complete the task at a large scale, he said.
“We desire to be in charge of our own fate. Our demand will be high since we believe that owning the technology has tremendous value and will advance extremely quickly.
“Bring it on,” Andy Marsh said, “I think we can get the best economics out of our electrolyzer facility. Andy Marsh has a different opinion.
Dr. Hutchinson predicted that despite the Gladstone facility producing the electrolyzers that support Fortescue’s hydrogen business, the corporation would still purchase electrolyzers off the shelf from suppliers like Plug.
We have gained a lot of knowledge since our conversations with Plug Power, and we adore Andy Marsh. Our relationship with Plug Power is still going strong, and they continue to provide us with electrolyzers for some of our projects.
“At some point, we’re going to require all the OEMs to pitch in.”
Proton exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline electrolyzers, the two common electrolyzer types, will be produced in the Gladstone factory.
The fact that it will be Australian technology is exciting, according to Dr. Hutchinson.
Fortescue has provided initial investment to a start-up that is attempting to produce green hydrogen without using power, while the Gladstone factory is focused on common electrolyzer technologies.
The initiative, headed by Professor Greg Metha, aims to produce green hydrogen from water by photocatalyzing focused sunlight.
The conversion of Incitec Pivot’s Gibson Island fertilizer facility into an ammonia production plant is expected to be one of the five clean energy projects on which FFI will make a final investment decision this year, according to Dr. Hutchinson.
The other four will be outside of Australia, and since US president Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act includes considerable incentives for hydrogen, it seems likely that at least one of the five projects will be in North America.
However, Dr. Hutchinson hinted that he was pleased by the Albanesian government’s recent modification to its climate strategy, which calls for the 215 largest emitters in the country to cut emissions by roughly 4.9% annually.
The government has suggested that pricing for Australian carbon credit units (ACCUs) should not increase over $75 per tonne under that strategy.
A $75 carbon price, according to him, was more than anticipated, making Fortescue’s promise to end scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from its iron ore operations by 2030 even more crucial.
“The Australian government’s stated carbon credit cap price is more than twice what our modeling had predicted. This indicates that Fortescue will have additional incremental savings per year due to our transition to absolute zero, he said.
Andrew Forrest, executive chairman of Fortescue, reaffirmed his intention for the business to diversify into the minerals essential for decarbonization, particularly copper and rare earth elements.
According to Dr. Forrest, a scarcity of minerals won’t stop the world from reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
I can truly see abundant minerals in the terrestrial or land environment, so I’m not overly concerned about the minerals that the globe needs to enter the energy revolution, he remarked.
I don’t understand the sense of destroying rainforests, engaging in deep sea mining, or using any of the other potential environmental hazards as justifications for mineral extraction.
