Australia Starts Construction of Hydrogen Liquefaction Facilities

Construction has started on a half-billion dollar pilot hydrogen liquefaction facilities at Port Hastings in Victoria, Australia.

The project will look at the feasibility of turning brown coal from the Latrobe Valley into hydrogen, which would then be liquefied and exported to Japan on specialized ships. 

Australia's Minister for Resources Matt Canavan said it has the potential to create $2 billion in exports for Australia. The Australian and Victorian Governments have committed $50 million each to the $500 million project, which is also supported by the Japanese Government and Japanese industry.

The use of hydrogen is part of Japan’s vision of a clean energy future, and any emissions from the pilot project will be fully offset, with commercial scale operations required to use carbon capture and storage to ensure a low emission source of hydrogen. This could make Victoria a world leader in the fast-growing hydrogen industry, which is expected to be worth $1.8 trillion by 2050.

The project will be delivered by a consortium of Japanese energy and infrastructure companies led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and including J-Power, Iwatani Corporation, Marubeni Corporation and AGL, with KHI and Iwatani leading the build at the Port of Hastings.

The construction work includes building and mechanical installation including a liquefaction facility and a storage container to be completed by June 2020, to be followed by commissioning, with the target operating period being from 2020 to 2021.