Murchison Hydrogen Renewables Project

March 21st, 2025

Murchison Hydrogen Renewables Project

The project, located near Kalbarri in the mid-west region of Western Australia, is for a combined large-scale wind and solar energy development to produce renewables-based hydrogen which would be converted into ammonia, mainly for export purposes.

Main proponents:

Murchison Hydrogen Renewables Pty Ltd (parent company being Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners) as trustees for the Murchison Hydrogen Renewables Project Trust

 Main end-use classification:

Industrial process – ammonia production, export focussed

 Status:

Under development

 Estimated cost:

 
Other involvement:

 

 Production details:

Project total electrolyser capacity at full scale is anticipated at around 3 gigawatts (GW). Hydrogen Headstart Program Funding award is for a project capacity of approximately 1.5 GW

 Location:

Western Australia, Australia

 Announced funding:

AUD$814 million in funding allocated under the Australian Government’s Hydrogen Headstart Program (subject to meeting development conditions)

Project description

At full scale, the project would have a combined onshore wind and solar energy generation capacity of 6 GW; this would power approximately 3 GW of electrolysis capacity and produce approximately 1.9 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of renewables-based ammonia, primarily for export to Asian markets.

The project would be located on Murchison House Station, approximately 20 kilometres north of the coastal town of Kalbarri in Western Australia’s mid-west region.

At full scale, the project’s Environmental and Planning Approvals Fact Sheet (dated February 2025) notes several key onshore and marine components, including:

  • Wind farm deployment with installation of approximately 550 wind turbines
  • Solar PV Farm deployment within a footprint of up to 10,000 hectares
  • Hydrogen and ammonia production plants and storage facilities
  • A water desalination plant
  • Marine export facility, including export vessel mooring and product (liquid ammonia) transfer infrastructure, located approximately 2.5 kilometres offshore.

The project approvals process began in early 2022 with a Referral of proposal submitted to the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).  The Western Australian EPA referral confirmed that a Public Environmental Review level of assessment is required for the project. The project indicates that this documentation is planned to be submitted to the Western Australian EPA for environmental assessment in 2025.

Subject to all relevant approvals and commercial considerations being in place, the project development webpage indicates a potential developmental timeline along the following lines:

  • Front-end Engineering Design (FEED) studies begin early 2026
  • Phase One final investment decision (FID) and construction in late 2026/early 2027
  • Phase One production commences late 2029
  • Phase Two FID in latter part of 2030
  • Full scale production from end 2031 onwards.

In March 2025, ARENA announced AUD$814 million in funding allocated under round 1 to of the Hydrogen Headstart Program to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners for a 1.5 GW development. The ARENA release noted that the recipient must satisfy a number of development conditions and achieve commercial operations before the funding is released, with funding under the program to be paid based on production volumes over a 10-year operating period.

In December 2021, the Western Australian Government announced the project would receive Lead Agency Services from the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

In March 2024, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the LOTTE Chemical Corporation, intended to support collaboration on clean ammonia projects. As part of the agreement, the two companies agree to discuss and finalise agreements for the supply, purchase, and sale of blue ammonia to LOTTE from CIP’s St. Charles Project in Louisiana, U.S., and green ammonia from CIP’s Murchison Project in Australia.

In April 2024, the project was granted Major Project Status by the Australian Government (expiry April 2027) with such projects receiving assistance from the Major Projects Facilitation Agency in navigating their major Australian Government approvals.

Project informational resources can be found here.

 

Updated (based on accessed publicly available information): March 2025