Portland Renewable Fuels
Portland Renewable Fuels
The project is a large-scale hybrid bio/e-methanol development to be located in the Portland area of Victoria targeting aviation and maritime applications.
| Main proponents:
HAMR Energy |
Main end-use classification:
Methanol production |
Status:
Under development |
Estimated cost:
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| Other involvement:
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Production details:
30,000 tonnes per annum of hydrogen generation under evaluation (consistent with electrolyser capacity of around 220 megawatts) |
Location:
Victoria, Australia |
Announced funding:
AUD$500,000 – Victorian Government Portland Diversification Fund – feasibility study support |
Project description
The project is a large-scale hybrid bio/e-methanol development to be located in the Portland area of Victoria. The hybrid development would include:
- Over 500,000 tonnes of underutilised or damaged residual forestry biomass as feedstock
- Approximately 30,000 tonnes of hydrogen generation per annum from renewable energy sources (National Electricity Market connected, predominantly wind expectation)
The project proponent has advised that MoUs are in place with feedstock providers to cover over 100% of the volume required. The methanol synthesis plant is expected to produce around 300,000 tonnes of ‘green’ methanol per annum.
In September 2023, the Victoria Government announced the award of AUD$500,000 to Portland H2 – a subsidiary of HAMR Energy – to support a feasibility study investigating the establishment of a plant converting plantation forestry residue to green methanol at the Portland site. The study includes preliminary engineering and planning for the plant that would also include a +200-megawatt electrolyser to produce renewables-based hydrogen.
In July 2024, HAMR Energy announced a Memorandum of Understanding with thyssenkrupp Uhde. The partnership would see thyssenkrupp Uhde supply the Portland Renewable Fuels project with a biomass to methanol solution integrating its established PRENFLO® gasification technology and innovative Uhde® green methanol technology.
In August 2025, HAMR Energy announced that thyssenkrupp Uhde had completed the project pre-FEED (Front-End Engineering Design) phase. According to the announcement, the completion of pre-FEED with thyssenkrupp Uhde allows HAMR Energy to finalise permitting and commence the FEED stage.
The project expects to be operational by 2030.
Reviewed (reviewed by the project proponent): September 2025