Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the successful projects last week.
THE MURCHISON Green Hydrogen project in Western Australia has been named as one of four projects selected to be a part of the Federal Government’s Front Door program.
The project, located near Kalbarri in WA’s Mid West, is for a combined large-scale wind and solar energy development to produce renewables-based hydrogen for conversion into ammonia, mainly for export purposes.
The scheme is designed to help fast-track projects through the regulatory process and assist them to identity potential financing opportunities.
Under the pilot, the government will provide project developers with a dedicated engagement manager to help navigate the regulatory requirements, obtain regulatory decisions, and identify existing appropriate government financing options.
The other projects include:
- HAMR Energy’s Renewable Fuel Project in Victoria and South Australia – which will develop two facilities to convert biomass into low carbon liquid fuels;
- Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie Nickel Project in WAa – one of the largest nickel and cobalt resources in Australia, which could produce 30,000 tonnes of nickel and 2000t of cobalt a year for 40 years; and,
- New Energy Transport’s Wilton Project located south‑west of Sydney – a large-scale zero‑emission heavy road freight depot to help strengthen the resilience of freight systems and supply chains.
Speaking at a press conference at Melbourne Airport last week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said these projects aimed to make the economy stronger and more resilient, and make Australia’s fuel supply more secure.
“The Investor Front Door is all about streamlining and fast-tracking and supporting important investments and big projects in our economy where there’s a national interest benefit,” Mr Chalmers said.
The Murchison Green Hydrogen Project is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, a global leader in energy infrastructure investment.
In addition to the Front Door initiative, the project has been previously recognised as a recipient of Major Project Status by the Federal Government; Lead Agency Status by the WA Government; and $814 million production credit funding through the Federal Government’s Hydrogen Headstart program.
The hydrogen and ammonia production facility will operate completely off-grid, with stage one to be powered by 1200MW of solar photovoltaic, 1700MW of onshore wind and 600MW/two-hour battery energy-storage system.
At full-scale, the plant is projected to produce approximately 2 million tonnes of renewables-based ammonia per annum.
Project timeline
The project approvals process began in 2022 and last month was finalising the environmental approval documentation for submission to the regulator this year.
In an update published to the company’s website last month, Murchison Green Hydrogen Project chief executive officer Shohan Seneviratne said the team was progressing project engineering design and approvals.
“Pending receipt of all the relevant approvals and offtake commitment, CIP expects to maintain its current timeline for a Final Investment Decision on Murchison Green Hydrogen in 2027,” Mr Seneviratne said.
“While the offtake market is currently facing global headwinds, there is still demand for clean hydrogen and ammonia and CIP remains in extensive discussions with key offtake partners in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany.”
The company has estimated that construction would commence following FID and take about five years to complete.
If this timeline is reached, early production would begin in 2030 with full production expected in 2032.
Source: Federal Government, Murchison Green Hydrogen Project
