Huge green hydrogen and renewables project in Western Australia scaled back: reports | Hydrogen News

Intercontinental Energy (ICE) has scaled back expansion plans for its mammoth Western Australia (WA) green hydrogen and ammonia project, according to reports.

The developer recently requested a termination of its Environmental Impact Assessment on its Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) and will now pursue building up to 15GW of renewables capacity instead of the original 26GW.

H2 View has reached out to ICE for confirmation.

Located in the Pilbara region, ICE had planned to eventually produce 1.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of green hydrogen and 9 mtpa of ammonia.

Plans for the 26GW build-out were backed in February by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which granted $21m (€18m) for its development.

The potential scale-back follows British oil and gas firm BP pulling out of the development in July 2025, leaving the WA government scouring for alternative majority stakeholders in Japan.

It comprises a blow for ICE’s ambitions in WA, which also involve the Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH), a 70GW plant in the Goldfields region slated to produce 5 mtpa of green hydrogen.

Asian majors came on board with WGEH in February, lining up a final investment decision for 2029.

While near-term outlook for green hydrogen in the region remains cautious as projects face commercial and offtake challenges, it retains long-term potential underpinned by abundant renewable resources, land and export infrastructure.

Recently, a 700MW green hydrogen-to-fertiliser project shortlisted for federal government subsidies lined up US electrolyser maker Electric Hydrogen as a key technology partner.