The Hydrogen Utility (H2U) and Orica have begun a strategic partnership agreement to initiate the first phase of a hydrogen and green ammonia production complex, the H2-Hub™ Gladstone project.
The H2-Hub Gladstone will be a Coordinated Project with H2U and Orica signing a Memorandum of Understanding on a master plan study to explore opportunities for an exclusive domestic green ammonia offtake and supply agreement.
Acting Queensland Premier and Minister for State Development, Steven Miles, said, “Commitments like this help to propel Central Queensland towards becoming a clean energy powerhouse, as part of Queensland’s plan for economic recovery.
“The potential agreement would see green ammonia supplied directly to Orica’s Yarwun manufacturing plant from H2U’s proposed Yarwun green ammonia production plant.”
The project has a $4.7 billion investment during its phased construction. There will be large employment opportunities with estimates of over 550 jobs during construction, over 140 ongoing operational jobs and approximately 1,900 indirect jobs being created from the project.
Queensland Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing, Minister for Water and Member for Gladstone, Glenn Butcher, said Central Queensland was establishing itself as a renewables powerhouse.
The partnership will also see Orica and H2U explore opportunities for a potential green ammonia export terminal at the Port of Gladstone.
“Being able to leverage off existing Orica ammonia storage capacity and the associated connecting infrastructure in the Gladstone State Development Area is an added benefit of this fantastic project,” Mr Butcher said.
Mr Butcher said H2U’s Yarwun land purchase was made possible through the Queensland Government’s land use planning and property development agency, Economic Development Queensland (EDQ).
“This was a key step for the project, the State Development Area has the eco-system to deliver a project of this scale,” Mr Butcher said.
The H2-Hub™ Gladstone project has a planned capacity of up to 3GW of electrolysis and up to 5,000 tonnes per day of green ammonia production.
It is expected that the proposed facility will use 100 per cent renewable energy from new-build solar and wind resources in the Queensland region.
Orica President Australia Pacific and Asia, Germán Morales, said Orica has been operating in Yarwun for over 30 years, and is committed to ensuring its Yarwun facility and the Gladstone region remain competitive in a lower carbon economy, while creating more sustainable products for customers and opportunities across new industries.
Mr Morales said the partnership was a critical milestone for the H2-Hub™ Gladstone project, and that he looked forward to contributing to a more sustainable future for the Queensland region.
H2U Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Attilio Pigneri, said H2U was delighted to welcome Orica as a strategic offtake and development partner in the H2-Hub™ Gladstone project.
Mr Pigneris said securing participation from one of the leading players in the domestic ammonia industry was a huge vote of confidence in this game-changing project.
The master plan study will run for approximately six months with front-end engineering and development approval activities scheduled to commence at the back end of 2022.
The financial investment decision for the activation phase of development is scheduled for 30 June 2023. The H2-Hub™ Gladstone is scheduled for operational activity to begin in 2025, with the latter expansion phase to take place between 2027-2030.
