New 6GW green hydrogen project in Australia eyes ammonia export to Japan and Korea

Facility will combine about 3GW of wind and 3GW of solar with a desalination plant and a 500km H2 pipeline to a nearby port

Location of the Moolatanawa Renewable Hydrogen Project, in the arid outback of South Australia.Google

Leigh Collins

A massive 6GW green hydrogen project has been announced in South Australia at a site with “one of the best combinations of wind and solar resources in Australia”.

The Moolawatana Renewable Hydrogen Project will combine about 3GW of wind and 3GW of solar with electrolysers, a desalination plant, and a dedicated H₂ pipeline around 500km long to a local port, where the hydrogen will be used to produce green ammonia for export — with Japan and South Korea mentioned as possible destinations.

The project, 570km north of Adelaide, is still at the pre-feasibility stage, and preliminary consultation with stakeholders is now under way.

It is one of several gigawatt-scale green hydrogen projects proposed in Australia with an eye on exports to Asia, including the 28GW Western Green Energy Hub, 14GW Asian Renewable Energy Hub, 8GW HyEnergy Zero Carbon Hydrogen and the 5GW Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project (see below), all in Western Australia; the 3.6GW Pacific Solar Hydrogen and 3GW H2-Hub Gladstone projects in Queensland, and the 2.8GW Tiwi Hydrogen Project in the Northern Territory.

The Moolatanawa developer is a local special-purpose project company called Kallis Energy Investments, owned by the Kallis Family Trust and chaired by Terry Kallis, who developed the state’s first wind farm, the 33MW Starfish Hill, back in 2003.

Kallis is also a co-founder of Australia’s first offshore wind farm project, the 2GW Star of the South, and the 5GW Murchison H₂ project. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the €16bn ($18bn) Danish renewables infrastructure fund, is investing in both these projects.

“The project has the potential to contribute significantly to national, state and local objectives for new investment, new jobs, renewable energy sources and new export markets,” he said.

“There is a great opportunity for Australia and in particular South Australia — with its high renewable penetration and experience — to become a global powerhouse in the production of green hydrogen.”

South Australia currently gets 62% of its electricity from wind and solar, backed up by some of the world’s largest battery projects, including the 150MW/194MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve.

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