Liquefied green hydrogen shipping from Australia to Japan under the microscope
Four Japanese companies, Iwatani Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kansai Electric Power and Marubeni Corporation, have signed a memorandum of understanding with Australia’s Stanwell Corporation and APT Management Services to carry out a A$10.4m ($7.6m) feasibility study for liquefied green hydrogen shipping from Australia to Japan. Hydrogen would be produced on a large scale using renewable energy in Queensland and liquefied at the Port of Gladstone.
The Central Queensland hydrogen project is a proposed renewable hydrogen production and export facility, to be built in Aldoga, 20 km west of Gladstone. A site in Fisherman’s Landing is to be acquired as hydrogen liquefaction and loading base.
The feasibility study will focus on green hydrogen production technology, the construction of hydrogen liquefaction plants and liquefied hydrogen carriers, associated finance and environmental assessments, and commercialisation models.
The up to 3 GW project aims to produce and supply green hydrogen over the long term, with goals of producing at least 100 tonnes of hydrogen per day around 2026, and 800 tonnes per day from 2031. According to Stanwell, at its peak, the proposed project will provide more than 5,000 new jobs, deliver $4.2bn in hydrogen exports and $10bn to Queensland’s gross state product over its 30-year life.
Pending the successful outcome of the feasibility study, the consortium will complete a front-end engineering design phase with a view to reaching a financial investment decision in 2022. The Australian government is supporting the study through the Australian Renewables Energy Agency (Arena), providing up to $1.59m.
