Kepco agrees to ammonia offtake from Gladstone

By Julian Atchison on December 07, 2022

Representatives from Queensland government, Korea East West Power and the Hydrogen Utility sign the new agreement in Gladstone. Source: LinkedIn (Ryan Freer, Trade and Investment Commissioner for Queensland).
Click to learn more. Representatives from Queensland government, Korea East West Power and the Hydrogen Utility sign the new agreement in Gladstone. Source: LinkedIn (Ryan Freer, Trade and Investment Commissioner for Queensland).

Kepco (via subsidiary Korea East West Power Company) and the Hydrogen Utility (H2U) have signed an offtake agreement for renewable ammonia produced at the under-development H2-Hub in Gladstone, Queensland. The pair will develop supply chains for the ammonia product to be exported to Korea, where it will be used by Korea East West Power to decarbonise power stations. In April this year, H2U signed a domestic offtake agreement with Orica, who would use ammonia from H2-Hub to manufacture explosives & mining chemicals at their nearby plant. Operations at H2-Hub are expected to begin in 2025, with exports starting in 2027.

This export-market offtake relationship, along with the domestic market relationship announced with Orica earlier this year, represent a huge vote of confidence in our project.

H2U Founder and CEO Attilio Pigneri quoted in “Korea power companies sign MoUs for huge green ammonia projects in Australia”, RenewEconomy, 18 Nov 2022

Ammonia and hydrogen also play a prominent role in Gladstone Regional Council’s new economic transition roadmap (click to download pdf). The ten-year plan for the region sets out the necessary steps for the region to become a renewable energy “superpower”. Queensland state recently made significant announcements about decarbonising its power generation & industrial sectors.

A timeline of energy changes for Gladstone 2026-2029, from Gladstone Region Economic Transition Roadmap (The Next Economy, Oct 2022).
Click to enlarge. A timeline of energy changes for Gladstone 2026-2029, from Gladstone Region Economic Transition Roadmap (The Next Economy, Oct 2022).

Two new Australia-Korea production projects in Western Australia

Representatives from KIMIPCO, PGS and the WA state government at the MoU signing in Perth. Source: Progressive Green Solutions.
Click to learn more via the Geraldton Guardian. Representatives from KIMIPCO, PGS and the WA state government at the MoU signing in Perth. Source: Progressive Green Solutions.

And two new projects have been launched, with Korean-based KOMIPO and Australia-based Progressive Green Solutions (PGS) agreeing to develop two renewable energy-powered, million-tonne-per-year export projects.

Midwest Green Ammonia (near Geraldton) and Pilbara Green Ammonia will be developed alongside 3-4 GW of wind & solar generating capacity, with surveys of renewable resources to begin next month. Production is expected to begin in 2027, with KOMIPO requesting the first exports commence in 2028 to decarbonise power generation in South Korea.