Green ammonia mega project announced for Australia

LONDON (ICIS)–An international consortium on Tuesday unveiled ambitious plans for a 20m tonne/year green ammonia mega project in Australia that would provide clean energy to domestic and foreign customers.

When fully operational, the Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH) could produce up to 50GW of hybrid wind and solar power over 15,000 square kilometres in south east Western Australia.

The scale of the investment and a timeline for its construction were not disclosed in a statement by an alliance comprising InterContinental Energy, CWP Global and Mirning Green Energy Limited.

But at 20m tonnes/year, the scale is truly massive, with the entire current global seaborne ammonia market roughly that figure.

The project’s backers, who include representatives of the region’s indigenous community, note the green hydrogen sector is predicted to become a $2.5tr market by 2050.

“The region [in Western Australia] provides an optimal diurnal profile for renewable energy, with consistently high levels of wind and solar energy over a 24-hour period,” the trio said in the news release.

“WGEH will be built in phases to produce up to 3.5m tonnes of zero-carbon green hydrogen or 20m tonnes of green ammonia each year, which will be provided domestically and exported internationally as the green fuels market continues to expand post-2030.

“Green fuels produced at the site will meet massive future demand from multiple sectors, including in cofiring in power generation, the shipping sector, heavy industry such as steel, chemicals and mining, as well as the aviation sector.”

Three weeks ago, the Australian government rejected plans for the world’s largest green hydrogen and ammonia production facility amid grave concerns about the impact of the showcase project on protected wetlands and wildlife.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley ruled that the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) – whose backers include proponents of WGEH – “will have clearly unacceptable impacts” on precious flora and fauna in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Despite being awarded “Major Project Status” by the federal government in late 2020, the future of the multi-billion dollar scheme is now in doubt.

The AREH includes 26GW of wind and solar generation, at least 3GW of generation capacity for Pilbara energy users and up to 23GW of generation for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia.

Currently, the only ammonia plant in Western Australia is the 850,000 tonne/year export-oriented facility at Pilbara involving Yara, which loads cargoes each month at the nearby port of Dampier.