New facility to increase North Queensland’s hydrogen capacity

The Port of Townsville and Australian renewable energy company Ark Energy have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which can potentially provide North Queenslanders the capacity to ship 120,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen to South Korea within the next decade.

A feasibility study will investigate the development of a renewable hydrogen facility at Sun Metals’ zinc refinery in Townsville, along with hydrogen export facilities at the Port of Townsville.

Queensland’s Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said Sun Metals had been supported with a $5 million Hydrogen Industry Development Fund grant from the Queensland Government, as part of the state government’s focus on driving investment and accelerating development of hydrogen projects.

Sun Metals has received the grant for the development and integration of renewable hydrogen into potential applications including remote area power, transport, and heavy industry.

Queensland Minister for Resources and Member for Townsville Scott Stewart said the Port of Townsville was a key piece of infrastructure when it comes to developing hydrogen exports.

“Sun Metals is one of Townsville’s most innovative businesses and it’s exciting to have their sister company, Ark Energy, plan to export renewable hydrogen to South Korea from Queensland’s publicly-owned port,” Stewart said.

Ark Energy Chief Executive Officer Daniel Kim said the initial goal was to build North Queensland’s domestic hydrogen economy by supporting fleet owners to transition away from diesel to zero emission hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles, which can be refuelled at SunHQ.

“Ultimately our goal is to export green hydrogen to customers in Asia starting with our parent company in South Korea whose hydrogen demand could be as high as 200,000 tonnes per annum,” Kim said.

“We believe that Townsville has the potential to become a major global hub for hydrogen exports. The MOU with the Port of Townsville is an important step in our journey to investigate this exciting export opportunity, which has the potential to transform the regional economy of North Queensland.”

The announcement follows another MoU signed between the Queensland Government-owned North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation (NQBP), Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure, Brookfield, and international trading company ITOCHU Corporation last month to undertake a study into the potential production, storage and export of renewable hydrogen from the Dalrymple Bay terminal at the Port of Hay Point, south of Mackay.

Earlier this year, the Queensland Government also signed an agreement to develop a liquid hydrogen facility at the Port of Townsville. The agreement between the Port and Origin energy company will eventually see the port facilitating export of 36,500 tonnes of green liquid hydrogen to Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries each year.

Queensland Assistant Minister for Hydrogen Development Lance McCallum said the latest agreement would bolster the states’ goal of using 50 per cent Renewable Energy Target by 2030, as well as Townsville Ports ‘Port Vision 2050’ which outlines a 30-year action plan for reducing emissions.

“Today’s MOU between the publicly owned Port of Townsville and Ark Energy will help secure new and emerging jobs in Townsville,” Mr McCallum said.

“The Palaszczuk Government has been a leader in backing hydrogen for the future which is why we launched the $2 billion Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund as well as the Hydrogen Industry Development Strategy.”