The Hydrogen Stream: Australian gas giant plans 290MW liquid hydrogen production facility

Australian oil and gas giant Woodside has entered front-end engineering design (FEED) on a hydrogen project for the first time, awarding a contract in late December for FEED engineering services to Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) for its proposed H2OK project in Oklahoma. “H2OK is a liquid hydrogen production facility proposed for the Westport Industrial Park in Ardmore. Phase 1 involves the construction of an initial 290-megawatt (MW) facility, producing up to 90 tonnes per day (tpd) of liquid hydrogen through electrolysis, targeting the heavy transport sector. The location offers the capacity for expansion up to 550MW and 180tpd,” Woodside wrote on Tuesday. Woodside is reportedly targeting a final investment decision on H2OK in the second half of 2022, and first liquid hydrogen production in 2025.

Australian iron ore company Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Germany-based supplier of high-tech polymer materials Covestro intend to enter into a long-term agreement for the supply of green hydrogen and its derivatives, including green ammonia. “According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), FFI and Covestro will formalise an agreement under which FFI will supply Covestro with the equivalent of up to 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen (GH2) per year,” FFI wrote on Monday. The deliveries to Asia, North America, and Europe could commence by 2024. According to Fortescue's chairman, the non-binding MoU is the “first step towards a broader strategic partnership to accelerate the green energy transition, particularly in energy-intensive industry.”

India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) signed a strategic partnership agreement. “IRENA will facilitate knowledge sharing from India on scaling-up renewable energy and clean energy technologies as well as support India’s efforts to advance cost-effective decarbonisation through the development of domestic green hydrogen,” the Abu Dhabi-based agency wrote last week. IRENA already underlined that many countries will need technology transfers. In its latest report about hydrogen’s geopolitical consequences, the agency also cautioned about investments in blue hydrogen. “Blue hydrogen is sometimes portrayed as a safe bet, because it allows producer countries to monetise natural gas resources and pipelines that might otherwise become stranded. But the expected cost reduction in green hydrogen coupled with stricter climate mitigation policies means that investments in supply chains based on fossil fuels (blue or grey) – especially assets expected to be in operation for many years – may end up stranded,” reads the 118-page report published earlier this week.

The Chilean Minister of Energy together with ProChile, the government agency responsible for the international promotion of the country, organized the H2V Commercial Mission to analyze multiple hydrogen projects from Chile to the Port of Rotterdam. The program will include meetings and visits to the main pilot projects, ProChile wrote on Monday. Several European companies, including Engie, Total, Enel, Siemens, Rwe, and Linde will take part in the events, which will take place over the entire week. “The Dutch National Hydrogen Strategy covers imports, so we are developing the necessary infrastructure to receive and distribute clean energy throughout Europe. But we also want to partner with key players in the sector and build alliances to promote production-focused projects that support our future suppliers,” Nico Van Dooren, Director of New Business at the Port of Rotterdam, commented in a press release published last week by ProChile.

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE), the intermediate holding company for Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) Group‘s shipbuilding operations, expects to have the technology to transport hydrogen by ship by 2025, Reuters wrote last week. The company has reportedly developed a concept ship with an initial capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, which will grow in time as the technology matures. Also last week, the European Commission has prohibited, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) by Hyundai Heavy Industries. “The merger between the two South Korean shipbuilders would have created a dominant position by the new merged company and reduced competition in the worldwide market for the construction of large liquefied gas carriers,” wrote the Commission last week. KSOE is betting on the transportation and the use of hydrogen, LNG, and methane, announcing international deals and investments in different technologies over the last months. In March last year, HHI unveiled its Hydrogen Dream Roadmap 2030. One of HHI’s clients, Danish shipping company Maersk, reportedly ordered a dozen methanol-fuelled container vessels. The methanol could also be produced from green hydrogen. Several other vessels manufacturers, including Japan’s Yanmar, are developing hydrogen fuel cell systems.

Danish technology provider Haldor Topsøe has signed a €45 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support its R&D investments in new technologies to support a wide range of energy-intensive industries in their transition towards a low-carbon future. “This funding will support our research into innovative hydrogen technologies that will ultimately enable our customers to produce low-carbon products for society,” commented Roeland Baan, CEO of Haldor Topsøe.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock talked with Ukrainian leaders about initiatives for the sustainable modernization of the country’s energy sector, including the development of the green hydrogen market. “After my talks in Europe and the US since I took office, my message today is the same: solidarity. In this difficult situation we don't talk about Ukraine without Ukraine,” wrote Baerbock after the visit in Kyiv. According to an article by Ukrinform, Germany will soon open a hydrogen diplomacy bureau in Kyiv to launch concrete projects “as soon as possible.”