Renewable hydrogen produced at Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA) in Adelaide will be delivered to Whyalla in a South Australian-first project showcasing the possibilities of locally produced hydrogen.
This week a custom tube trailer will collect shipments of up to 370kg of the renewable gas from HyP SA’s plant at Tonsley Innovation District as part of a partnership between Australian Gas Networks – part of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) – and BOC, a Linde company.
The hydrogen will be used to produce high-purity argon supplied to the Whyalla steelworks and local industry. It is the beginning of what is expected to be weekly deliveries to the Steel City and will position HyP SA as a major wholesale supplier of hydrogen in Australia.
“This is an exciting glimpse into the future possibilities of renewable hydrogen produced right here in South Australia,” SA premier Peter Malinauskas said.
“Renewable hydrogen is a key part of our clean energy future, and this exciting project is helping businesses push the frontiers of renewable hydrogen. The real-life application of this facility reinforces widening community recognition of hydrogen’s benefits.”
The project is a glimpse into the future of possibilities of South Australian-produced hydrogen, when the SA government delivers its Hydrogen Jobs Plan.
The new Adelaide-based hydrogen supply chain will replace current deliveries to BOC’s South Australian customers from Victoria, eliminating the costs associated with 117,000km in annual transport and saving approximately 122,000kg of carbon emissions per year.
“BOC will now commence supplying green hydrogen to South Australian customers and be able to support demand for zero emissions fuel across energy, storage, transport and other industrial applications,” BOC South Pacific managing director John Evans said.
“The green hydrogen will also be used for combustion in our Whyalla Argon Purification Unit which makes high purity argon used in industrial processes and welding gases.”
HyP SA can produce approximately 175 tonnes of hydrogen per annum, equal to the total gas use of around 1,500 South Australian homes, or tens of thousands of homes on a blended gas basis.
“This new production source at HyP SA demonstrates the wider potential for this fuel and its ability to integrate into existing and future energy networks,” AGIG chief executive officer Craig de Laine said.
“We are working on our plans to deliver carbon-free, renewable hydrogen to our more than 450,000 customers that rely on gas in South Australia.
Since May 2021, HyP SA has supplied up to 5 per cent blended renewable gas to more than 700 homes in Mitchell Park, which has strongly embraced its status as the recipients of Australia’s first renewable blended gas. By the end of this year, it will supply more than 3,000 homes in the surrounding suburbs.
AGIG aims to deliver at least 10 per cent renewable gas across its distribution networks by 2030 and has set itself an ambitious target of 100 per cent renewable gas conversion by 2040, and by no later than 2050.
HyP SA at Tonsley was the first of several renewable hydrogen projects AGIG is developing around Australia. Pending approvals, Hydrogen Park Murray Valley in Victoria will be a 10-megawatt facility delivering up to a 10 per cent (by volume) renewable gas blend to more than 40,000 homes and businesses in Albury and Wodonga in 2024. Additionally, AGIG has announced plans for a 10 per cent blended gas project in Gladstone, Queensland.