Gladstone PEM50 Project (Archived)

Gladstone PEM50 Project

A two-stage renewables-based hydrogen project building up to 50 MW electrolysis plant full capacity is under construction at Gladstone, Queensland, with first production targeted for 2025.

Main proponents: Fortescue	Main end-use classification: Targeted third party offtake and through on-site refueller	Status: Archived	Estimated cost: Approximately US$150 million capital expenditure over two phases to a full scale 50 MW electrolysis plant
Other involvement:	Production details: Around 8,000 tonnes of hydrogen per annum based on full scale 50MW electrolyser capacity	Location: Queensland, Australia	Announced funding: Eligible for remaining US$13 million from a previously awarded grant under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative

Project description

The Gladstone PEM50 Project, located at Gladstone, Queensland, is a planned two-stage 50 MW renewables-based hydrogen project:

• The first stage comprises installation of a 30 MW electrolyser plant, targeted to be operational in 2025.
• The second stage, the remaining 20 MW of electrolysis capacity, is planned to be installed and commissioned in 2028, aligned with the availability of water supply.

The full-scale 50 MW plant has production capacity of up to 22 tonnes per day or 8,000 tonnes per annum of renewables-based hydrogen. The project would use Fortescue’s Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) technology.

The plant is to be constructed adjacent to Fortescue’s existing Gladstone Electrolyser Manufacturing Facility at Gladstone.

A final investment decision to proceed with the project was announced in November 2023. First production of hydrogen is targeted for 2025. In February 2025, in reporting on its half yearly results to December 2024, Fortescue noted uncertainty in global market conditions and that as a result the development timeframes of Fortescue’s Arizona Project and Gladstone PEM50 Project are being reconsidered. In its release, Fortescue noted it anticipates having greater clarity on the impact of these external factors by the end of the financial year (end June 2025).

The capital expenditure for the Project is up to US$150 million over the two phases. The capital expenditure includes the supply of equipment and the construction and installation of the electrolyser, balance of system, balance of plant and associated infrastructure.

The proponent indicates that the project is eligible to access the remaining grant of US$13 million that was previously awarded to Fortescue’s Gladstone Electrolyser Manufacturing Facility, under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

The project would utilise renewable energy supplied from the National Energy Market. It is anticipated that power will initially be purchased from the spot market. Power would be supplied to the project via a 275-kilovolt transmission line, newly installed by Queensland Powerlink.

Water for the project would be supplied by the Gladstone Area Water Board through an upgraded connection established for the Gladstone Electrolyser Manufacturing Facility. There is sufficient allocation to support the phase one 30 MW capacity; the proponent indicates that upgrades to the existing water infrastructure would be required to be completed by the Queensland Government to support the full-scale production capacity of 50 MW.

In July 2025, in its June 2025 Quarterly Production Report (Investor and Analyst Call Transcript), Fortescue noted that:

“At our PEM50 Project in Australia, we have made a strategic shift away from electrolysers to focus on advancing technologies to provide low cost hydrogen for green industry in Australia. This change in direction is vital for the progress of our green iron ambitions. However, it means that the PEM50 Project is no longer needed to test that technology. We will be looking at future opportunities for the site in Gladstone as well.”

 

Reviewed: July 2025