Woodside to build hydrogen plant in WA

Energy producer Woodside, with the support of the Government of Western Australia, has unveiled plans to establish a hydrogen and ammonia production facility at Kwinana, south of Perth, with the output intended for export.

The proposed project, named H2Perth, would be built on approximately 130 hectares of vacant industrial land to be leased from the state in the Kwinana Strategic Industrial Area and Rockingham Industry Zone.

Contrary to current trends, however, the plant will not be a totally ‘green’ hydrogen facility, using a combination of electrolysis and natural gas reforming.

H2Perth is a phased development that, at full potential (according to Woodside), would be one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world. It would produce up to 1500 tonnes per day (tpd) of hydrogen for export in the form of ammonia and liquid hydrogen.

As well as meeting a shared goal of hydrogen export from Western Australia in the second half of the decade, Woodside aims to support state initiatives to stimulate local hydrogen demand, particularly in the transport sector and among local heavy industry. Local refuelling stations can be built independently of the export project timelines and could operate as early as 2023, subject to approvals and customer demand.

Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill said H2Perth would be a landmark project, both for Woodside and for Western Australia.

“Woodside has a proud track record as an Australian oil and gas producer and our LNG exports will continue helping Asia to reliably meet its energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions for decades to come,” she said. “Now, we intend to use our skills and financial strength to add new energy products and lower-carbon technologies and services to our portfolio, which can be scaled to meet customer demand.”

Hydrogen produces zero carbon emissions when it is used as fuel and is emerging as a critical component in the world’s transition to a cleaner future. Ammonia is currently the most established means of safely transporting hydrogen over long distances.

Hydrogen and ammonia from H2Perth would be produced using both electrolysis technologies and natural gas reforming, with 100% of carbon emissions abated or offset. The electrolysis component of H2Perth’s production will have an initial capacity of 250 MW, with potential to scale to more than 3 GW alongside both customer demand and renewable energy growth. The initial phase of the steam methane reformer will consume 40 TJ per day of natural gas.