Trafigura has announced plans to build a renewable-energy-powered ammonia and hydrogen plant in Port Pirie, South Australia (SA), with an initial production capacity of 20 t/d of green ammonia for export by 2025 and a future expansion to 100 t/d using a 440MW electrolyzer at a cost of A$750 million ($537 million).
Trafigura intends to make a final investment decision by the end of the year, with building set to begin in 2023. An engineering study for the project will be jointly funded by Trafigura and the SA state government.
The project will be incorporated into the lead smelter at Port Pirie, which is run by Nyrstar, a Belgian metals company that is managed by Trafigura. According to Trafigura, the hydrogen project will be the cornerstone of a new green hydrogen district in Port Pirie.
According to SA Premier Steven Marshall, the planned hydrogen project’s first stage contains an 85MW electrolyser that creates hydrogen and oxygen by splitting water with renewable energy. The hydrogen will be converted to ammonia for export and usage by shipping, domestic transport, and maintaining the Port Pirie industrial area, while the oxygen will be utilized to fulfill roughly 20% of the smelter’s requirements.
The second stage includes a 440MW electrolyser that will meet the smelter’s complete oxygen demands as well as produce vast volumes of ammonia for export while sustaining local supplies, according to Marshall.
Last month, the South Australian government announced that seven hydrogen projects powered by renewable energy had been nominated for its proposed hydrogen hub at Port Bonython, which is some 40 kilometers across the Upper Spencer Gulf region of SA.
Other planned SA hydrogen projects include H2U’s Eyre Peninsula gateway project, proposed by German utility RWE, and Australian Gas Infrastructure’s gas and hydrogen blending project, which is controlled by Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK. As part of its national hydrogen plan, the Australian federal government is also proposing to build a hydrogen center on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.
Over the last 12 months, almost 62 percent of SA’s power comes from renewable sources, with the country aiming towards 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. With the construction of the 800MW EnergyConnect electrical transmission connection between South Australia and New South Wales, it also hopes to become a net exporter of electricity to other states in east Australia.
By 2050, SA intends to meet 500 percent of current grid demand with renewable energy, which will include power for hydrogen production and power export to neighboring states. It also intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
