Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA) has begun supplying 100 per cent renewable hydrogen to the Whyalla steelworks and local industry.
The HyP SA facility can produce approximately 175 tonnes of hydrogen per annum, equal to the total gas use of around 1,500 South Australian homes, or tens of thousands of homes on a blended gas basis.
A BOC custom tube trailer will collect shipments of up to 370kg of the renewable gas from HyP SA at the Tonsley Innovation District, as part of a partnership between HyP SA developer Australian Gas Networks (AGN) and BOC, a Linde company.
The new Adelaide-based hydrogen supply chain will replace current deliveries to BOC’s South Australian customers from Victoria, eliminating the costs associated with 117,000km in annual transport and saving approximately 122,000kg of carbon emissions per year.
It is anticipated there will be weekly deliveries to the Steel City, under an agreement that establishes HyP SA as a hydrogen production hub.
South Australia Premier, Peter Malinauskas, attended the launch at HyP SA, along with South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining, Tom Koutsantonis, South Australia Minister for Trade and Investment, Nick Champion, Australian Gas Infrastructure (AGIG) Group CEO, Craig de Laine, and BOC South Pacific Managing Director, John Evans.
Mr Malinauskas said the real-life application of the HyP SA facility helps to reinforce the community’s widening recognition of hydrogen’s benefits.
“Renewable hydrogen is a key part of our clean energy future, this exciting project is helping businesses push the frontiers of renewable hydrogen,” Mr Malinauskas said.
In May 2021, HyP SA began supply of up to five per cent blended renewable gas to more than 700 homes in Mitchell Park, which has embraced its status as the recipients of Australia’s first renewable blended gas.
By the end of this year, HyP SA will supply more than 3,000 homes in nearby suburbs with blended gas.
Mr de Laine said the initiative is a wonderful example of how electricity and gas infrastructure cna work together to deliver a cleaner future.
“This new production source at HyP SA demonstrates the wider potential for this fuel and its ability to integrate into existing and future energy networks,” Mr de Laine said.
AGIG aims to deliver at least ten per cent renewable gas across its distribution networks by 2030 and has a target of 100 per cent renewable gas by 2040, and by no later than 2050.
HyP SA at Tonsley is the first of several renewable hydrogen projects AGIG is developing around Australia. Pending approvals, Hydrogen Park Murray Valley in Victoria will be a 10MW facility delivering up to a ten per cent (by volume) renewable gas blend to more than 40,000 homes and businesses in Albury and Wodonga in 2024.
Additionally, AGIG has announced plans for a ten per cent blended gas project in Gladstone, Queensland.
