Hydrogen Park South Australia
Hydrogen Park South Australia
This project involves the blending of renewable hydrogen with natural gas for supply to more than 700 properties in the suburb of Mitchell Park, and to supply 100% hydrogen to industry via tube trailers. The project also aims to supply hydrogen for transport in the future.
| Main proponents:
Australian Gas Network (AGN) which is part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) |
Main end-use classification:
Hydrogen in gas networks, industrial use, mobility |
Status:
Operational – May 2021 |
Estimated cost:
AUD$14.5 million |
| Other involvement:
|
Production details:
Hydrogen production – 20 kilograms per hour |
Location:
South Australia, Australia |
Announced funding:
AUD$9.6 million – AGN/AGIG AUD$4.9 million – South Australian Government Renewable Technology Fund |
Project description
Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA) produces renewable hydrogen for blending with natural gas for supply to more than 700 properties in the suburb of Mitchell Park. It is also providing direct hydrogen supply to industry, and aims to supply hydrogen for transport in the future.
Located at Tonsley Innovation District, HyP SA produces renewable hydrogen using a 1.25MW Siemens Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser – as at July 2021, the largest of its kind in Australia – which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity.
The 5% renewable gas blend will be supplied through the existing gas network to more than 700 households in the nearby suburb of Mitchell Park. HyP SA has also installed tube-trailer filling facilities that enables the road transport of hydrogen so it can be blended into other points in the network, including hydrogen vehicle refuelling and industrial use.
The project was officially opened on 19 May 2021 by the Premier of South Australia and by the Minister for Energy and Mining.
In October 2020, BOC announced that it had signed an offtake agreement to purchase excess hydrogen produced by the project. BOC has installed a compressor to enable hydrogen transport via tube trailers to industrial customers (initially) in South Australia (with the potential to also supply Western Australia).
BOC’s Whyalla Argon Purification Unit (APU) will use the hydrogen as an energy source to make high purity argon used in industrial processes and welding gases. BOC has indicated this will completely replace the need to transport hydrogen from the BOC Altona facility in Victoria to Whyalla, saving over 120,000 kilograms (kgs) of carbon emissions per year.
Learnings from HyP SA’s operations will be published through the Australian Hydrogen Centre (which is supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the South Australian and Victorian Governments).
Milestones
February 2018: The project receives AUD$4.9 million in grant funding from the South Australian Government AUD$150 million Renewable Technology Fund
December 2019: Early site works begin on the project
October 2020: BOC announces an offtake agreement to purchase excess hydrogen from the project
May 2021: The project facilities become operational
Updated: July 2021