AREH and Pilbara Ports Sign Agreement to Advance Green Ammonia Bunkering and Exports

[By AREH]

PERTH, 11 November 2026 - The Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) and Pilbara Ports have signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) to explore the supply of green ammonia for bulk liquid exports and ship-to-ship bunkering at the Port of Port Hedland.

The agreement builds on AREH’s participation as an industry partner in the Pilbara Clean Fuel Bunkering Hub initiative, supporting Pilbara Ports’ strategic roadmap to position the region as a global leader in maritime decarbonisation. The collaboration will explore how local ammonia production from AREH could connect with and develop the Port infrastructure and services needed to supply ship refuelling and export markets.

The agreement supports AREH’s phased development as a large-scale renewable energy hub. Its early activation phase already includes opportunities for renewable-powered data centres. Subsequent phases are intended to support broader industrial decarbonisation, including renewable power for the Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area and the North-West Interconnected System, hydrogen production for new green iron industry development, and ammonia production providing potential supply for ship refuelling, known as bunkering, at Port Hedland and for large-scale ammonia exports.

The potential full-scale development of AREH at up to 26 GW of renewable energy generation from a world-class solar and wind resource site will enable it to support multiple renewable energy-powered use cases. The full-scale development plans could ultimately support 5 GW of IT compute capacity and up to 0.8 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen for Pilbara iron and ammonia production.

Isaac Hinton, Chair of AREH and Head of Australia at InterContinental Energy, said:

“AREH’s phased approach allows us to pursue near-term opportunities in renewable-powered data centres while developing the foundations for industrial decarbonisation and sovereign future clean fuel production.

“This agreement with Pilbara Ports advances the longer-term opportunity for green ammonia to supply shipping and export markets. It will help us understand how production could connect with port infrastructure and marine fuel demand as AREH scales up.”

The Pilbara Clean Fuel Bunkering Hub initiative aims to establish a locally supplied clean marine fuel industry to support the decarbonisation of shipping, maritime and resources activities, including vessels servicing the Pilbara–North Asia trade route.

Pilbara Ports estimates that switching the iron ore fleet servicing its ports from conventional heavy fuel oil to low-carbon ammonia could reduce the fleet’s annual fuel lifecycle emissions by up to 88 per cent.

Samuel McSkimming, Chief Executive Officer, Pilbara Ports said:

“Developing a clean fuel bunkering industry requires coordination between fuel producers, port infrastructure providers and ship operators.

“Our agreement with AREH will help us explore the infrastructure and services needed to support green ammonia bunkering and bulk exports at Port Hedland. Following on from the successful trials of ship-to-ship ammonia transfers in the Ports of Dampier and most recently in Port Hedland, this will lay the foundations for a commercially viable clean fuel supply chain in Port Hedland.”