Hydrogen Utility (H2U)

The pair will develop an 850,000 tonnes per year renewable ammonia production facility in Queensland, Australia. The ammonia will be used domestically by IPL, exported to Singapore for use in Keppel’s under-development power generation projects, or sold to customers in Asia for energy needs. The source of the renewable hydrogen feedstock will be the nearby Central Queensland hydrogen mega-project. In other news, H2U will collaborate with the local first nations community on its own mega-project in the area: H2-Hub™ Gladstone.

The Hydrogen Utility and Orica will explore possibilities for an exclusive off-take & supply agreement. Renewable ammonia produced at H2U’s future production plant in Gladstone, Australia would supply Orica’s nearby manufacturing plant, which will use the ammonia to produce explosives and mining extraction chemicals for Australian & international mining customers. There is also the potential for an ammonia export terminal to be built by the pair, based on Orica’s existing ammonia storage infrastructure in Gladstone.

Casale will develop the technology package and supply proprietary equipment for green ammonia production at H2U's Eyre Peninsula Gateway project. Under the new agreement, Casale may also lead the construction and integration of the first project stage - two pilot-size green ammonia plants. It's the latest in a series of announcements concerning H2U's two Australian green ammonia export projects, the other being the H2-Hub in Gladstone.

Welcome to the Ammonia Wrap: a summary of all the latest announcements, news items and publications about ammonia energy. This week: the World Bank sees hydrogen and ammonia as key to decarbonising shipping, a new coalition for safe ammonia bunkering, Trafigura co-sponsors MAN's development of ammonia-fueled maritime engines, cracking plant a feature of the new Wilhelmshaven hydrogen hub, RWE and H2U to develop global hydrogen trading between Australia and Germany, Province Resources' West Australian mega-project grows to 8GW and South Africa's Hydrogen Society Roadmap a step closer.

Welcome to the Ammonia Wrap: a summary of all the latest announcements, news items and publications about ammonia energy. This week: new Japanese developments, new AiP for ammonia-fueled vessel, Singapore bunkering study, new ammonia from wastewater initiative, Fortescue brings carbon neutrality goals forward to 2030, Australian project updates for Hazer and H2U, and H2Pro updates from Israel.

IN BRIEF: According to industry data reported by Rystad Energy in April 2020, ammonia producers are developing the majority of renewable hydrogen projects in Australia. The project pipeline counts more than 400 MW of electrolyzer installations planned for green ammonia production, from a nationwide total of 700 MW.

Last month the Council of Australian Governments Energy Council – “a Ministerial forum for the Commonwealth [of Australia], states and territories and New Zealand, to work together in the pursuit of national energy reforms” – issued a 137-page report entitled Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy. For those focused on how ammonia energy will go from promising idea to practical reality, this is what the next step – the one after the discovery of ammonia's virtues as a hydrogen carrier – could look like. The Strategy is detailed, comprehensive, and concerned with both practical measures in the near term and the arc of progress over the long term. And embedded within it are three ideas that are likely to have on-going relevance for ammonia energy implementation.

The Australian state of South Australia took another step into the hydrogen future this week when it unveiled its Hydrogen Action Plan at the International Conference on Hydrogen Safety in Adelaide.  The heart of the Action Plan consists of the practical measures that governments undertake in areas such as infrastructure, workforce, and regulatory framework development.  Zoom out, though, and it is clear that fostering a major export position in green hydrogen is first among equals in the Action Plan's priorities.  And this being the case, it is no surprise that ammonia is singled out for special attention.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Australian chapter of the Ammonia Energy Association (AEA Australia) has announced details of its inaugural conference, which will take place on August 22 and 23, 2019, and will be held at CSIRO in Clayton, Victoria. Entitled "Ammonia = Hydrogen 2.0," the conference will focus on the role of ammonia within the Australian hydrogen economy, specifically "Building an energy export industry using Green Ammonia." In addition to a full program of talks by invited speakers, networking events will include panel discussions, a poster session, and the conference dinner. Registration for the event is now open, with an early booking discount available until July 5.

This week, the government of South Australia announced a "globally-­significant demonstrator project," to be built by the hydrogen infrastructure company Hydrogen Utility (H2U). The renewable hydrogen power plant will cost AUD$117.5 million ($95 million USD), and will be built by ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions with construction beginning in 2019. The plant will comprise a 15 MW electrolyzer system, to produce the hydrogen, and two technologies for converting the hydrogen back into electricity: a 10MW gas turbine and 5MW fuel cell. The plant will also include a small but significant ammonia plant, making it "among the first ever commercial facilities to produce distributed ammonia from intermittent renewable resources."