Port Pirie Green Hydrogen Project
Port Pirie Green Hydrogen Project
A front-end engineering and design study is being undertaken by the proponent for a large-scale renewable-based hydrogen facility to be integrated with the Nyrstar Port Pirie multi-metal processing facility in South Australia.
| Main proponents:
Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd |
Main end-use classification:
Export potential – ammonia, domestic use |
Status:
Under development |
Estimated cost:
AUD$5 million – front end engineering and design AUD$750 million – full scale project |
| Other involvement:
|
Production details:
20 tonnes per day – phase 1 100 tonnes per day – at full production capacity |
Location:
South Australia, Australia |
Announced funding:
AUD$2.5 million – Trafigura – front end engineering and design AUD$2.5 million – Government of South Australia – front end engineering and design |
Project description:
Trafigura is a large physical commodity trading company and majority owner of Nyrstar’s global multi-metals processing and manufacturing businesses, including the Nyrstar Port Pirie facility, located on the eastern shore of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, approximately 220 kilometres north of Adelaide.
In early December 2021, Trafigura and the State Government of South Australia announced a joint investment to progress plans to construct a large-scale renewable-based hydrogen manufacturing facility in Port Pirie. The AUD$5 million Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study for the Port Pirie Green Hydrogen Project is being jointly funded by Trafigura and the State Government.
The project is planned to be integrated into Nyrstar’s Port Pirie smelter, using existing infrastructure to accelerate hydrogen production. The Project would form the cornerstone of a new renewable-based hydrogen precinct in Port Pirie that can support the decarbonisation of transport and industry.
The project is to be developed in phases, with the first phase targeting the production of 20 tonnes per day of renewable-based hydrogen from a 85-megawatt (MW) electrolyser.
The produced hydrogen from this initial phase would serve both export (through conversion to ‘green’ ammonia) and domestic uses (transport applications and supporting the Port Pirie industrial precinct). The oxygen produced would supply around 20% of the needs of the Nyrstar Port Pirie smelter.
The full-scale plant would produce 100 tonnes per day of renewable-based hydrogen at full capacity from a 440MW electrolyser capacity, supporting both export and domestic supply. The oxygen produced at full capacity would meet the entire needs of the Port Pirie smelter.
At full scale, the estimated design and construction cost of the project is estimated at AUD$750 million.
Reviewed: April 2023