Hydrogen Park South Australia
Hydrogen Park South Australia
This project involves the blending of renewable hydrogen with natural gas for supply to around 4,000 properties in metropolitan Adelaide, as well as direct hydrogen supply to industry and mobility applications via tube trailers.
| Main proponents:
Australian Gas Networks (AGN), 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:
BOC
|
Production details:
The facility has the capacity to produce approximately 175 tonnes of hydrogen per annum |
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 around 4,000 homes and businesses in metropolitan Adelaide. It is also providing direct hydrogen supply to industry and to supply hydrogen for transport uses (including a two-year hydrogen bus trial on routes across Adelaide).
Located at Tonsley Innovation District, HyP SA produces renewable hydrogen using a 1.25MW Siemens Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser.
The 5% renewable gas blend (by volume) was (initially) supplied through the existing gas network to more than 700 households in the nearby suburb of Mitchell Park. HyP SA 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.
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 trailer 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 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. In August 2022, it was announced that shipments of hydrogen from HyP SA had commenced as part of the AGN-BOC partnership; weekly deliveries are anticipated with tube trailer shipments of up to 370 kilograms of hydrogen.
In June 2022, AGIG announced plans to expand its supply of renewable hydrogen at the HyP SA site to deliver 5% blended renewable gas to thousands of additional properties. By March 2023, delivery of 5% blended renewable hydrogen was expanded to around 3,000 additional residential and commercial properties.
In August 2023, the South Australian Government announced a two-year hydrogen bus trial involving two vehicles based at the Morphettville bus depot deployed on routes across Adelaide from late August. The hydrogen fuel for the bus trial will be supplied by BOC with offtake from the HyP SA facility.
In March 2024, it was announced that the renewable gas blend was increased from up to 5% to up to 10% (by volume).
Learnings from HyP SA’s operations have been 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: Construction commencement
October 2020: BOC announces an offtake agreement to purchase excess hydrogen from the project.
May 2021: The project facilities become operational.
August 2022: The first commercial delivery of renewable hydrogen from the HyP SA facility to BOC’s plant in Whyalla, South Australia.
March 2023: Delivery of 5% blended renewable hydrogen expanded to around 3,000 additional residential and commercial properties.
March 2024: Renewable gas blend increased from up to 5% to up to 10% (by volume)
Reviewed: March 2024