PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Global Energy Ventures (GEV) has unveiled plans to develop a green hydrogen export project on the Tiwi Islands, in the Northern Territory, with a phased capacity of up to 2.8 GW, producing up to 100 000 t/y of green hydrogen for export.
GEV is proposing a staged approach to construction, with an initial development phase of some 0.5 GW of installed solar generation, expanding to 2.8 GW as the regional hydrogen market grows, as well as benefitting from the ongoing cost and efficiency improvements in photovoltaics, electrolysers and shipping.
The Tiwi hydrogen project will deliver a fully integrated green hydrogen production and export supply chain, commencing with a fleet of GEV’s 430 t compressed hydrogen ships.
The company said on Wednesday that the integration of GEV’s innovative compressed hydrogen shipping solution enabled a phased development and construction timeframe, thereby benefiting from the continued decline of the capital and operating costs for solar generation, electrolysers and shipping.
“The strategic rationale for GEV to develop a landmark upstream renewable energy and green hydrogen production project is to demonstrate the simplicity and efficiency of using compression for a pipe-to-pipe green hydrogen supply chain and to provide greater certainty in the commercialisation of our shipping solution. This project can transition GEV from a midstream service provider to an innovative hydrogen company,” GEV MD and CEO Martin Carolan said.
“Our compressed shipping solution is highly modular and can therefore scale to match the advancement of electrolyser technologies and market demand for pure green hydrogen gas, and deliver a competitive cost of hydrogen as the project scales. The support of the Northern Territory government also demonstrates the Territory’s strategy and vision to be a world-scale producer and exporter of renewable hydrogen.”
Northern Territory Renewables and Energy Minister Eva Lawler has welcomed the project announcement, saying that with its solar resources and proximity to key export markets, the Northern Territory is an ideal place to generate renewable hydrogen to meet the future demand within the region.
“We look forward to supporting GEV through our investment facilitation team to progress the project through to operation,” she added.
GEV will now fast-track the installation of solar monitoring stations at several locations, allowing the company to establish bankable solar generation data for the proposed project location. The company would also work with the Northern Territory Port and Marine to integrate Port Melville’s operations and facilities into the Tiwi hydrogen project.
Furthermore, the company willl also start planning for a full feasibility, including further information on the project development schedule, technical partners, project scale, solar monitoring activities and appointment of consultants. The project schedule will run in parallel with GEV's full class approval programme for the 430 t pilot scale ship.
Financial close for the initial phase of the Tiwi hydrogen project is targeted for 2023, with first hydrogen export to start in 2026, subject to all commercial and regulatory approvals and customer offtake.