PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Green energy developer Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) remains committed to the development of its Bell Bay hydrogen project, in Tasmania, the company said on Thursday.
Reports emerged this week that the company has suspended plans to progress its hydrogen project, and has made two employees in Tasmania redundant, owing to lack of firming electricity available at the site.
A spokesperson for the company told Mining Weekly Online that the company had recently restructured its East Coast operations to reflect its progress and focus on centralised project delivery.
“One Tasmanian-based staff member has been made redundant as a result of the restructure; however, this does not impact resourcing allocated to progressing opportunities in the state, it simply centralises key functions,” the spokesperson said.
“FFI is committed to delivering green hydrogen projects in Australia and is making good progress across our portfolio. We are continuing to work with stakeholders, including the Tasmanian government, to secure power and water supply for our plans in Tasmania.”
FFI’s proposed Bell Bay project is a 250 MW green hydrogen development with the capacity to produce 250 000 t/y of green ammonia for domestic use and international export. In 2021, FFI signed an option agreement with the Tasmanian Ports Corporation to negotiate all land and operating access requirements for the proposed project.