The Australian port of Geelong in Victoria wants to invest A$100 million ($71.4 million) in a green hydrogen center, with Singapore gasification technology firm CAC-H2 serving as the centre’s foundation green hydrogen developer.
The Geelong hydrogen hub will be a production and distribution facility for green hydrogen, with the fuel being marketed to domestic consumers such as households, businesses, and industries, according to Geelong Port chief executive officer Brett Winter. Its development will also include building capacity to produce green ammonia for export into Asia to meet rising demand in the region.
Winter estimates that the first stage of the Geelong hydrogen hub will be operational in December 2023, subject to regulatory clearances. The port is home to Viva Energy’s 128,000 barrel-per-day Geelong refinery, as well as a study to create a hydrogen fueling facility in Geelong.
CAC-H2 has reached an agreement with Geelong for the second time in the last two months. Last month, the company signed a joint venture with Port Anthony to create a waste woody biomass gasification system that will produce green ammonia for local and international usage.
However, Geelong is not one of the seven hydrogen centers that the federal government has agreed to finance in part as part of its hydrogen plan. Instead, the Australian government is sponsoring a projected hydrogen center in Victoria’s La Trobe Valley. Last month, renewables supplied more than 36% of Victoria’s power, with the state aiming to obtain 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
The passing last week in the Australian senate of the Offshore Power Infrastructure Bill 2021, which would enable for the first time offshore wind projects, may help Geelong and Victoria’s aims to obtain more electricity from renewable sources. Victoria’s offshore wind resources are among the greatest in the country.
Separately, the state government of Western Australia has inked an initial deal with the Rotterdam port in the Netherlands. According to Western Australia’s hydrogen minister Alannah MacTiernan, the two parties will collaborate to investigate a renewable hydrogen export supply chain between Western Australia and the port of Rotterdam, which will include production, storage, transportation, and the use of renewable hydrogen.
“Currently, the port of Rotterdam serves 13 percent of the European Union’s overall energy consumption. This energy will progressively transition from fossil to renewable sources “Allard Castelein, the chief executive officer of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, stated.
