The global energy investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), is to receive A$814 million ($513 million) for a green hydrogen project from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). It will be the first recipient of the Hydrogen Headstart program.
The Murchison Green project, developed through CIP’s energy transition fund, will have a 600MW/1200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
It will consist of a solar and wind farm and produce hydrogen and ammonia. It will also have a desalination plant, it said.
It claims the facility will be able to produce 1.2GW of solar photovoltaic as well as approximately 1.7GW of offshore wind.
The site will be in western Australia 15 kilometres off the coastal town of Kalbarri, it said.
It will involve large-scale production of renewable hydrogen and ammonia through up to 1.5GW of electrolysis.
The facility will have a production capacity of 3,600 tonnes per day of Haber-Bosch ammonia to be exported, it said.
Funding is based on production volumes over a 10-year operating period. The company must satisfy multiple development conditions and operate commercially, it said.
Darren Millar, chief executive officer, ARENA, said: “ARENA’s support will help Australia’s first large-scale projects get to financial close and deliver on Australia’s promise as a provider of clean energy to decarbonise industry in Australia and globally. Enabling hydrogen projects through Hydrogen Headstart is essential to ensure our economic prosperity as the world transitions to cleaner forms of energy especially in hard to abate sectors such as ammonia, iron and alumina.”
Shohan Seneviratne, CEO, Murchison Green Hydrogen, said: “CIP is honoured to receive Hydrogen Headstart funding, which reinforces our shared vision with the Australian Government to establish aleading green hydrogen industry in Australia. We are committed to contributing to Australia’s green hydrogen ambitions by creating local jobs, supporting skills development and sharing project benefits with local communities, including First Nations.”
Image: Murchison Green Project. Credit: ARENA.
