Paul Rodden • Season: 2024 • Episode: 341
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Welcome to The Hydrogen Podcast!
In episode 341, Western Australia and Fortescue are back in the hydrogen news. Next Hydrogen is helping out with green ammonia, and Linde Engineering gets a huge EPC win in Germany. I’ll go over all of this and give my thoughts on today’s hydrogen podcast.
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Paul Rodden
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Transcript:
Western Australia and Fortescue are back in the hydrogen news. Next Hydrogen is helping out with green ammonia, and Linde Engineering gets a huge EPC win in Germany. I’ll go over all of this and give my thoughts on today’s hydrogen podcast.
So the big questions in the energy industry today are, how is hydrogen the primary driving force behind the evolution of energy. Where is capital being deployed for hydrogen projects globally, and where are the best investment opportunities for early adopters who recognize the importance of hydrogen? I will address the critical issues and give you the information you need to deploy capital. Those are the questions that will unlock the potential of hydrogen, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Paul Rodden, and welcome to the hydrogen podcast.
First up today in a press release. On August 16, Fortescue has marked a new milestone in its mission to build a green metal supply chain with the start of works at its Green Metal Project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Located at the Green Energy Hub at Christmas Creek, the US$50 million project is expected to produce more than 1,500 tonnes per annum of green iron metal, with first production anticipated in 2025. The plant will use green hydrogen produced at Fortescue’s gaseous and liquid hydrogen facility, the largest of its kind in Australia, together with an electric smelting furnace to produce high purity green metal. This will be suitable for use in almost any steel plant globally.
Fortescue Executive Chairman, Dr Andrew Forrest AO, was joined by Fortescue Metals Chief Executive Officer, Dino Otranto, for a ceremony to mark the start of civil works at the Christmas Creek site. “Today is a celebration of innovation, collaboration and stretch targets, and marks a pivotal moment in Fortescue’s journey to build a green metal supply chain,” Dr Forrest said. “Iron and steel are the backbone of our infrastructure, however traditional iron and steel production processes are among the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
By rethinking the entire iron and steel value chain we can produce an entirely new, green industry here in Australia. “Today’s milestone is the culmination of bringing together green sustainable mining, large-scale renewable power and green hydrogen to produce green metal. Right now, we have a once in a generation opportunity to build a green supply chain, and Fortescue is wasting no time to seize it.” Fortescue’s recently commissioned green hydrogen plant can produce around 530 kilograms of hydrogen gas per day, or around 195 tonnes annually. Powered partly by solar during the day, the plant comprises a gaseous hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) to refuel a fleet of 10 fuel cell electric vehicle hydrogen-powered coaches. The gaseous HRS was supported by the WA Government’s Renewable Hydrogen Fund through a $2 million grant. The Green Energy Hub also contains a hydrogen liquefaction facility, liquid hydrogen storage, and a liquid-hydrogen refueling station, along with Fortescue’s zero emissions decarbonisation prototypes.
“Fortescue is moving at rapid speed to decarbonise and the completion of our hydrogen facility, which is the largest gaseous and liquid hydrogen plant on any mine site in Australia, is testament to our commitment to leading heavy industry in decarbonising,” Mr Otranto said. “Hydrogen and fuels made using renewable energy will have a role to play in decarbonising mining, whether it’s in buses, heavy mining equipment such as haul trucks and excavators, or producing green iron. “This renewable hydrogen plant is versatile, enabling us to produce gaseous and liquid hydrogen to be used to power our mining equipment prototypes, while also providing the added benefit of refuelling our fleet of coaches at Christmas Creek.” WA Premier Roger Cook said, “WA is on its way to becoming a global clean energy powerhouse, and a major producer, user and exporter of green iron.
“Hydrogen has an important role to play in remote areas like mine sites, helping to create our State’s green iron supply chain, reduce our reliance on diesel and slash emissions on site.” The liquid hydrogen plant will be used to power Fortescue’s Offboard Power Unit and its hydrogen-powered haul truck prototype which recently arrived at Christmas Creek. The Green Energy Hub also hosts Fortescue’s prototype battery electric haul truck and a three-megawatt fast charger prototype. Okay, so Western Australia is back in the hydrogen news with Fortescue moving forward with their green iron project. Now the site this press release highlights the Christmas Creek site produces 350 kilograms a day of liquid hydrogen with the boil off being recounted. Pressured, and their two 700 kilowatt electrolyzers are capable of generating 530 kilograms of hydrogen gas per day for the refueling station that’s located there.
This is not a small hydrogen operation, and so to bring in a green iron plant, should elevate Western Australia’s metal export potential considerably.
Next in a press release on August 19, Next Hydrogen to supply, latest generation electrolysis technology for renewable energy, ammonia production research. Next Hydrogen solutions, a designer and manufacturer of electrolyzers, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract by the University of Minnesota (UMN) for its latest generation electrolysis technology to be installed at the UMN West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC).
The WCROC project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA-E) as well as other partners including RTI International (RTI) and will include technologies from Casale, RTI and UMN to demonstrate the production of ammonia from renewable energy targeting emerging energy markets and existing agricultural markets.
Next Hydrogen will be supplying its latest third-generation Alkaline Water Electrolyzers featuring improvements in energy efficiency, current density and operating pressure. Next Hydrogen electrolyzers provide complete and responsive renewable energy load following capability needed to produce hydrogen from intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar. The system is scheduled to be operational in 2025.
The project team also includes Nutrien, GE, Nel Hydrogen, Xcel Energy, Great River Energy, Otter Tail Power Company, Runestone Electric Association, Chemtronergy, Texas Tech University, Pacifica, the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) and Shell. Raveel Afzaal, President and CEO of Next Hydrogen, stated, “We are very honored to be part of this exciting project and working with our existing partners Casale and GE while also forming new industry relationships. Our technology provides a compelling alternative to more expensive options for producing hydrogen from renewable energy.”
Okay, so Next Hydrogen with a big win with the University of Minnesota to help further the research into green ammonia. Now, when I read the headline of this press release, I wasn’t too sure just how big this project really was, but to be joined by ARPA E, Nel Hydrogen, Xcel Energy and shell does give this some gravity, and there is something very important about the electrolyzer that’s been chosen. I’m sure most of you know that two critical failure points of electrolyzers, one is low power, the other is intermittent power. Well, this unit from Next Hydrogen, seems to avoid at least one of those pitfalls. So it will be interesting to see this project kick off next year.
And lastly, in a press release on August 19, Linde to Build 100 MW Green Hydrogen Plant for Shell REFHYNE II. Linde Engineering announced it has signed an agreement with Shell Deutschland GmbH (“Shell”) to build a 100 megawatt (MW) renewable hydrogen plant for the REFHYNE II project at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland in Wesseling, Germany.
Linde Engineering will be responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction of a new proton-exchange membrane (PEM) hydrogen electrolysis facility. ITM Power will supply the electrolyzer stacks.
REFHYNE II is expected to produce up to 44,000 kilograms per day of renewable hydrogen to partially decarbonize site operations. It will be used to produce cleaner energy products, such as transport fuels, with a lower carbon intensity. As demand evolves, renewable hydrogen from REFHYNE II could also be directly supplied to industrial customers in the region to help them lower their emissions. The facility is scheduled to begin operations in 2027.
“Hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonizing energy-intensive industrial sectors, and Linde is at the forefront of developing the technology needed to achieve this,” said John van der Velden, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Technology at Linde Engineering. “This project draws on our decades of experience in developing hydrogen projects at scale worldwide and we are proud to have been selected by Shell to help deliver its vision for REFHYNE II. This project also demonstrates how strong political commitment and supportive incentives can help progress the development of the hydrogen economy.”
The REFHYNE II project has been enabled by financial support from both the European Union and the Federal Government and benefits from a regulatory framework supporting the use of renewable hydrogen.
“With the 100 MW electrolysis REFHYNE II, we are further advancing Shell’s goal of being a net-zero-emissions-company by 2050. For Shell Energy & Chemicals Park Rheinland, REFHYNE II is a great investment and a milestone in its transition. The project will benefit from the experience that Shell and its partners Linde and ITM have in the development, construction and operation of other renewable hydrogen projects in Europe”, said Andrew Beard, Shell VP Hydrogen.
REFHYNE II follows the success of the 10 MW PEM electrolyzer REFHYNE I, which started up in 2021 and employs PEM electrolyzer technology. Okay, so Linde, with the big win, getting awarded the EPC contract for REFHYNE II project with Shell. The REFHYNE II facility looks to be a monster for hydrogen production, and Linde definitely has the experience to be the EPC for it, this is also more good news that supports hydrogen infrastructure moving forward in Germany, and with so much hydrogen development news getting generated over the last few months, I really do wonder if we’re witnessing the turning of the tide in favor of the European hydrogen economy picking up pace, then The big question now is where will the US fit into that equation?
All right, that’s it for me, everyone. If you have a second, I would really appreciate it. If you could leave a good review on whatever platform it is that you listen to Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google, YouTube, whatever it is, that would be a tremendous help to the show. And as always, if you ever have any feedback, you’re welcome to email me directly at info@thehydrogenpodcast.com. So until next time, keep your eyes up and honor one another.
Hey, this is Paul. I hope you liked this podcast. If you did and want to hear more. I’d appreciate it if you would either subscribe to this channel on YouTube, or connect with your favorite platform through my website at www.thehydrogenpodcast.com. Thanks for listening. I very much appreciate it. Have a great day.
