Strike Energy is expanding its renewable hydrogen production capabilities, beginning with the addition of a 10MW electrolyser to the urea fertiliser plant it is building in WA’s Mid West Region.
Strike signed non-binding memorandums of understanding with engineering firm ATCO and green hydrogen expert Infinite Blue Energy for collaboration on crucial infrastructure for the “low-carbon fertiliser” facility as well as green hydrogen offtake.
The dedicated on-site electrolyser, according to Strike, would create 1,825 tpa of green hydrogen, or about 2% of the entire hydrogen feedstock of the urea fertiliser plant, with the rest coming from “lower carbon” gas, which is more grey than green on the hydrogen spectrum, at least initially.
Strike, on the other hand, plans to supplement the plant’s green hydrogen feedstock with other renewable fuel sources from developers and suppliers in the Midwest over time.
Strike claims the MOUs with ATCO and Infinite Blue Energy will “facilitate alignment between the partners on the primary infrastructure objectives for the Mid-West area, and…petition for their development with the WA government,” for the time being.
Project Haber also has the ability to “transition into a carbon sink” by replacing methane-linked hydrogen with green hydrogen obtained from the Midwest, according to Strike.
According to the theory, once the plant’s feedstock mix contains more than 40% green hydrogen, it will be forced to import carbon dioxide in order to continue producing urea fertilizer. It’s less clear how this arrangement benefits the increasingly pressing need to reduce carbon emissions.
