A low-carbon hydrogen project in Western Australia will begin with a preliminary feasibility study by Hexagon Energy Materials.
The WAH2 project, which aims to produce low-carbon hydrogen using reformed natural gas and carbon capture and storage (CCS) in depleted gas reservoirs, is being pursued.
The project’s hydrogen will be transformed into ammonia, which, according to Hexagon, will offer lower processing and transportation costs while still meeting consumer demand for ammonia.
The company wants to increase capacity to manufacture up to 800,000 tonnes of ammonia annually in the second phase of the project after producing 250,000 tonnes of ammonia annually in the first phase.
Hexagon plans to investigate the energy carrier solution, site selection, project scalability, gas supply, CCS, production technology alternatives, and identification of improvements to reduce capital and operational costs in the preliminary feasibility study.
Hexagon has stated that in addition to securing an option to lease from the Western Australian (WA) government for a preferred project site, it will advance commercial discussions regarding gas supply, utilities, carbon dioxide sequestration, and ammonia offtakers in order to complete the study in the second quarter of this year (2023).
The 2022 Global Hydrogen Flows report from the Hydrogen Council emphasized Australia’s potential to play a significant role as an important exporter of hydrogen and its derivatives to Asia by 2050.
