APA Group

09/15/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/14/2021 21:46

APA Group joins international hydrogen consortium

Leading energy infrastructure business, APA Group, has joined a consortium of Australian and Japanese energy players in an effort to establish Queensland's largest green hydrogen project.

APA, through its Pathfinder program, joins Stanwell and Japanese companies Iwatani Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kansai Electric Power Company and Marubeni to commence a detailed feasibility study into the development of a large-scale green hydrogen project in Central Queensland.

The project proposes to export green hydrogen to Japan and supply large industrial customers in the Central Queensland region to support emissions reduction for the domestic industry.

'We are thrilled to be part of this large-scale hydrogen project through our Pathfinder program, which will continue to support a lower carbon future and opportunities to unlock high quality infrastructure solutions,' APA CEO and Managing Director Rob Wheals said.

'Australia's advantages in hydrogen are enormous and this project could be a game-changer in helping Queensland develop a hydrogen industry at scale.

'Queensland has some of the best sun and wind resources in Australia, making it well placed to not only develop an export hydrogen supply chain, but demonstrate the benefits of unlocking green hydrogen in our regions.

'Our Pathfinder program, which will be a key enabler in APA's efforts to achieve net zero operations emissions by 2050, is looking at hydrogen energy solutions of the future as well as other innovations and technologies that will help APA leverage its existing capabilities.'

The consortium partners, which have expertise across the hydrogen supply chain, will provide in-kind and financial contributions towards the feasibility study.

This project could potentially underpin the future of hydrogen supply to Japan, while at the same time, create jobs for regional Queenslanders, and pave the way for a domestic hydrogen supply chain for local and national customers.

When built, the proposed green hydrogen project would be the largest in Queensland - commencing production in the mid-2020s, the project would scale up to over 3,000 MW of electrolysis capacity by the early 2030s.

The expansion of the consortium follows funding contributions towards the feasibility study from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).