An ambitious renewable energy hub expanding thousands of kilometres in the Pilbara region, Australia is one step closer to realization.
Namely, the federal government is going to award a “major project status” to the proposal. The $US36 billion Asian Renewable Energy Hub aims to produce enough electricity from wind and solar farms to produce zero-emission green hydrogen for the local and export markets.
Considered the energy sector’s next big thing for decades, hydrogen is gaining more and more traction. It’s hoped that green hydrogen fuel will cut the carbon intensity of producing materials such as steel and fertiliser.
The 6500-square kilometre hub aims to generate 26MW of electricity to power the green hydrogen industry. Australia’s national hydrogen strategy aims to position the country as a world-leading exporter of the zero-emissions fuel.
The major project status will expedite the proposed hub through approvals processes. This includes navigating recently tightened Foreign Investment Review Board rules, towards a final investment decision by 2025 and a target of 2028 for first exports.
The Commonwealth’s national hydrogen strategy has set a goal to achieve commercial exports by 2030 and “clean” hydrogen was named among five priority technologies.
