Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project

Murchison Renewable Hydrogen Project

A large-scale combined solar and wind farm is proposed to produce renewable hydrogen for domestic and export uses.

Main proponents: Hydrogen Renewables Australia Pty Ltd, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners	Main end-use classification: Hydrogen mobility, gas networks and export potential	Status: Under development	Estimated cost: AUD$10 billion projected on completion of all three stages
Other involvement:	Production details: Hydrogen production – Under evaluation	Location: Western Australia, Australia	Announced funding:

Project description

Hydrogen Renewables Australia (HRA) is proposing to build large-scale (up to 5,000 megawatt – MW) combined solar and wind farm generation capacity to produce renewable hydrogen for domestic and export uses.

The proposed project would be located at Murchison House Station just north of the coastal town of Kalbarri in mid-west Western Australia.

The proposed Murchison facility would use Siemen’s electrolyser technology to produce hydrogen. Other infrastructure would include a desalination plant to supply demineralised water, a potential spur to existing pipelines and a coastal export terminal facility.

On current planning, the proposed project would be developed in three stages:

• a demonstration phase producing hydrogen for transport fuels
• an expansion to blend with natural gas into the nearby Dampier to Bunbury pipeline
• a larger expansion to produce hydrogen for export to Asian markets

HRA has indicated the potential for the proposed project to scale-up over a six-year period, reaching full capacity toward the end of this decade. The projected capital cost of the proposal is reported at around AUD$10 billion.

HRA has secured a long-term agreement with the pastoral lessees of the Murchison House Station, announced Siemens as the proposed plant’s technology partner, and executed a heritage agreement with the Nanda Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) to govern the conduct of site resource monitoring investigations.  Community consultations began in late 2019.

Preliminary site layouts and design, various technical, economic, environmental, and permitting studies, etc. remain to be undertaken.

In November 2020, it was announced that Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners would partner with Hydrogen Renewables Australia to develop the project.

 

Updated: December 2020