In Australia, companies prepare a 'super hub' to create green hydrogen which utilises wind and solar

November 17, 2022: -Australian “super hub” plan emphasises the generation of wind, green hydrogen and solar to take shape, with those involved hoping it will begin delivering power by 2027.

On Monday, Fortescue Future Industries said it was partnering with another company called Wind lab on the North Queensland Super Hub project.

FFI stated that the hub “could generate over 10GW of wind and solar power and underpin the industrial-scale to produce green hydrogen from purpose-built areas within Queensland.”

The starting stage of the planned project will centre around the development of the 800-megawatt Prairie Wind Farm and another 1,000-MW project. On condition of approvals, construction of the initial phase is slated to start in 2025.

“Energy generated from the project can produce green hydrogen and feed renewable power to the grid,” FFI said.

The International Energy Agency has described it as a “versatile energy carrier,” hydrogen has diverse applications and can be deployed in many industries.

It can be produced in several ways. One method includes electrolysis, with electricity splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen.

If the electricity used in this way comes from a renewable source like wind or solar, then a few call it “green” or “renewable” hydrogen. Today, the bigger majority of hydrogen generation is related to fossil fuels.

In August 2021, oil and gas giant BP added that “the production of green hydrogen and green ammonia that uses renewable ‎energy” had become technically feasible in Australia.

The energy supermajor’s conclusion on the conclusions of a feasibility study in May 2020 and backed by the Renewable Energy Agency of Australia, solar Lightsource bp and professional services company GHD Advisory.

On Monday, FFI said that industrial-scale green hydrogen is “constrained by the lesser of renewable supply for the process of extracting hydrogen starting water through electrification.”

Regarding the proposals, FFI’s CEO Mark Hutchinson added that Australia’s natural resources, including solar, wind and landmass, were “unrivalled in terms of their potential for making green energy” and “green hydrogen in particular.” 

“For the initial time, the North Queensland Super Hub will give the quantity of renewable energy needed to support large-scale green hydrogen production in Queensland,” he added.