It’s been talked about as the Holy Grail of Australia’s energy industry – a powerful, clean energy source that can potentially be stored in the country’s existing gas networks and is highly valued by the same international customers who purchase our LNG. Hydrogen is something the industry has had its eyes on it for a long time, but now things are finally getting down to serious business.
APGA has shown great support to try to get hydrogen off the ground and in a piece published in the July 2019 Pipeliner APGA National Policy Manager Andrew Robertson wrote about the importance of it and other decarbonisation technologies to the pipeline industry. Initiatives like the Future Fuels CRC continue to work at developing these technologies and in 2020 it’s clear there’s never been a more likely time for hydrogen to become a serious player in Australia’s energy mix.
Public sentiment towards fossil fuels, a continually expanding focus on renewables and a desire to shift to something with strong economic promise has pushed hydrogen to the forefront of the industry, gaining more support seemingly with each passing month.
A national strategy
In November 2019, after nearly 12 months of development, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council released Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy. Devised by COAG’s Hydrogen Working Group, chaired by Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, the strategy provides a plan for Australian governments and industry to grow the country’s hydrogen sector and turn the energy source into a major export by 2030.
The strategy was created through analysis and consultation with industry experts, the public and government officials and includes an extensive portion of original research. While the council intends for the strategy to be continually modified and updated as the industry progresses, at the time of its release Dr Finkel said the key stakeholders were ready to put things into action.
“The potential to export clean hydrogen is substantial, with the International Energy Agency and the World Energy Council both identifying Australia as a potential hydrogen production powerhouse,” said Dr Finkel.
“The challenge is to develop the early demand that will enable the suppliers to begin their journey down the cost curve. The best way to start this journey is for governments and industry to work together in the manner outlined in this strategy.”
The numbers have been well publicised – supporters say hydrogen could contribute $1.7 billion to the economy and provide 2,800 jobs by 2030, given the right conditions. Significant funding has also been making its way into the sector, with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) promising to provide up to another $70 million to fast track renewable hydrogen projects around the nation.
Although the national strategy was only released late last year, energy and engineering companies have been working on hydrogen projects across Australia for some time and 2020 sees the race to commercialisation well and truly on.
In the pipeline
One of the attractive qualities hydrogen has as an energy source is its potential compatibility with Australia’s existing vast networks of natural gas pipelines.
Multiple gas companies are exploring the possibility of blending hydrogen into their grids, which can both help store excess renewable energy and lower the carbon footprint of gas assets, and in May 2019 a report released by Energy Networks Australia confirmed that this kind of activity in the gas networks was permitted under law.
In New South Wales, Jemena has purchased a 500 kw electrolyser for its Western Sydney Green Gas Project – a $15 million trial co-funded by ARENA that will produce hydrogen for use in Jemena’s NSW gas network. Jemena General Manager Strategy and Commercial Gabrielle Sycamore said the project will demonstrate the comingling, storage and distribution of hydrogen and natural gas in the existing network.
“NSW’s first electrolyser will ensure we can develop processes to store renewably generated energy in existing network infrastructure for use when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow,” she says.
“Customers are increasingly looking for sustainable energy solutions and Jemena believes renewable gases such as hydrogen and biomethane can play an important role in meeting the NSW Government’s objective of net zero emissions by 2050.”
Jemena is aiming to produce hydrogen gas within the next few years.
Another major operator, Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), is on a similar path in South Australia through its Australian Gas Networks (AGN) arm, having officially begun construction of its Hydrogen Park SA (HyP SA) in an area south of Adelaide in December 2019.
“At HyP SA we will be building a 1.25 MW electrolyser as the first Australian demonstration project of its scale and size, with small quantities of renewable hydrogen produced and blended into the local gas distribution network next year,” says AGIG CEO Ben Wilson.
“Commercial hydrogen production is achievable and can decarbonise Australia’s energy mix while at the same time accessing export markets.”
The first customers to receive the gas in Adelaide will receive a blend of 5 per cent, but the company says it intends to eventually deliver 100 per cent renewable gas.
AGIG is also undertaking a study in Western Australia to assess the possibility of introducing hydrogen into the feedstock mix in the Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline (DBP). Making use of the 1,600 km pipeline, the initiative is major step up in terms of scale when it comes to blending hydrogen, with the WA Government to provide $216,000 of funding for the study while AGIG will put up a further $234,000.
WA’s Peel, Pilbara and Mid-West regional precincts are to be the focus of the study, along with the Perth metropolitan area, and Mr Wilson says the company has a responsibility to decarbonise natural gas assets.
“Project developers have already approached AGIG requesting to blend hydrogen into our pipeline,” says Mr Wilson.
“AGIG generally supports these projects but we must only proceed in a manner that ensures public safety is maintained, and there is currently no predefined method of introducing hydrogen into such large-scale assets as the Dampier to Bunbury link. AGIG is prepared to invest therefore in a number of studies to determine the best manner of introducing hydrogen into the DBP.”
The feasibility study is expected to be completed in June 2021.
Elsewhere in WA, ATCO announced in late December 2019 it had begun successfully blending renewable hydrogen into the gas network at its $3.6 million Clean Energy Innovation Hub in Jandakot. The blend has been used in gas appliances on site including cooktops and air conditioners, and ATCO is also using the development to examine the role hydrogen could play in hybrid microgrids.
ATCO has also benefited from ARENA funding, receiving a total of $1.6 million.
Above the ground
While application within pipelines is a major part of the hydrogen narrative, a plethora of other projects in Australia are kicking into gear and focusing on other aspects of the energy source. Hydrogen-fuelled vehicles are gaining more traction, led in Victoria by Toyota’s plan to build a $7.4 million facility at the company’s former car manufacturing site in Altona, Melbourne.
The site, which is expected to be fully operational in late 2020, will be the state’s first integrated hydrogen site, with an electrolyser, commercial grade hydrogen refuelling station and an education centre with live demonstrations.
In Queensland, BOC is pursuing a similar project also due for completion in 2020, developing a $3.1 million renewable hydrogen and production refuelling pilot project at its Bulwer Island gas facility. The project will involve the installation of a 220 kW electrolyser and a 100 kW solar array that will produce hydrogen via electrolysis, with the capacity to produce 2,400 kg of hydrogen per month.
A hydrogen refuelling station will also be constructed in Brisbane, which will receive 50 kg of renewable hydrogen per day.
“BOC is proud to be establishing a local supply of renewable hydrogen in Queensland that can be easily scalable and replicated across the country,” says BOC South Pacific Managing Director John Evans.
“We will also demonstrate our leading refueller technology that has been widely adopted across Europe and the US.”
More controversially, a $400–500 million project is underway at the Port of Hastings, Victoria to convert hydrogen gas made from brown coal into liquified hydrogen for export from Australia to Japan. Kawaski Heavy Industries is spearheading the project, known as the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) pilot project, which has received $50 million from each of the state and federal governments in funding and has a consortium of partners including Electric Power Development, J-Power Latrobe Valley, Iwatani Corporation, Marubeni Corporation and AGL Loy Yang.
The project has attracted criticism for its use of brown coal with concerns over the scale of emissions it could produce if it proceeds past the pilot stage. Nevertheless, the Environmental Protection Authority gave the project the green light arguing the current works were about demonstrating that the process, including the hydrogen shipping aspect, could work. Operations are set to begin in late 2020 or early 2021.
Other projects of note include ENGIE Australia’s renewable hydrogen and ammonia plant in the Pilbara, Hazer Group’s initiative to turn sewerage biogas into hydrogen and graphite in Perth, and ENGIE Australia’s plan to export green hydrogen to Asia. These operations are complemented by a range of initiatives at the university level at top educational facilities around Australia, helping gain more and more momentum for hydrogen throughout the industry.
Whether the energy source can and will become the multibillion-dollar green export juggernaut its propagators hope it will remains to be seen, but with so much money, time and effort now being concentrated in hydrogen’s direction, the answer might become apparent sooner than first thought.
If you have news you would like featured in The Australian Pipeliner contact Managing Editor David Convery at dconvery@gs-press.com.au
