Melbourne-based explosives manufacturer Orica Ltd. and Australian green hydrogen infrastructure developer The Hydrogen Utility (H2U) have partnered up to initiate the first phase of a proposed multi-billion chemical complex producing green hydrogen and green ammonia at Gladstone, Queensland.
The so-named “H2-Hub” Gladstone project has a planned capacity of up to 3 gigawatts of electrolysis and up to 5,000 mt per day of green ammonia from new-build solar and wind resources in the Queensland region.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding on a master plan study signed on April 12, the two companies will explore opportunities for an exclusive domestic green ammonia offtake and supply agreement, the Queensland government said in a media statement.
The potential agreement would see green ammonia supplied directly to Orica’s Yarwun ammonium nitrate manufacturing plant from H2U’s proposed Yarwun green ammonia production plant.
The partnership will also see Orica and H2U explore opportunities for a potential green ammonia export terminal at the Port of Gladstone.
“Being able to leverage off existing Orica ammonia storage capacity and the associated connecting infrastructure in the Gladstone State Development Area is an added benefit of this fantastic project,” said Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing, Minister for Water, and Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher.
The master plan study will run for approximately six months, with Front-End Engineering and Development (FEED) approval activities scheduled to commence towards the end of 2022.
The financial investment decision for the activation phase of the development is scheduled by June 30, 2023, with the H2-Hub Gladstone slated for operational activity to begin in 2025, according to the Queensland government statement. An expansion phase for the project is targeted to take place between 2027-2030.