PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Multiple existing water sources is expected to cut down on the development cost of ASX-listed Frontier Energy’s proposed green hydrogen project, in Western Australia.
The company on Thursday reported that preliminary results from its green hydrogen study had identified numerous existing water sources suitable for green hydrogen production, near its Bristol Springs solar project.
The water solutions meant that the development of a desalination plant would not be required for the green hydrogen project, significantly reducing the capital and operating costs of the proposed project, as well as its development timeline.
“The importance of accessing suitable water for green hydrogen production is a critical aspect many appear to be overlooking regarding the development of a sustainable green hydrogen industry,” said Frontier MD Mike Young.
“Without access to a suitable existing water solution developing a desalination plant is required. While this technology is well understood, it can add hundreds of millions of dollars to a project’s initial capital cost, depending on its size, as well as increase the operating costs. The development of a desalination plant will also slow a project’s development timeline given the stringent environmental and development conditions to be met," he said.
“The location of our Bristol Springs project has again given Frontier a major advantage to others with multiple options throughout the region for existing water access. Being on the South West Interconnected System allows the company to transfer our green electron’s to the most suitably located hydrogen facility,” Young said.
Frontier is expected to release its green hydrogen study in mid-2022.