Murchison hydrogen project goes to regulators

A green hydrogen project incorporating a large-scale wind and solar farm with installed capacity of 5.2 gigawatts in the Murchison region of Western Australia has gone to the federal and state government for approvals.

The Murchison Hydrogen Renewables project is one of the largest projects of its kind and is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Hydrogen Renewables Australia Pty Ltd.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is a fund management company with more than EUR 12 billion under management. CIP is specializing in renewable energy infrastructure and has projects in North America and Western Europe alongside its Australian asset.

The mammoth project will cost AUD$10 billion to construct and produce hydrogen gas for domestic use and ammonia for export.

It will developed on a 126,000-hectare site at Murchison House Station, roughly 20 kilometres from the town of Kalbarri.

The facility will use electrolyser technology developed by tech firm Siemen’s and include a desalination plant to supply demineralised water, associated pipelines and a coastal export terminal.

It will be developed in three phases. The first will be a demonstration project to produce hydrogen for transport fuels.

A second phase will blend hydrogen produced into the natural gas network through a tie-in with the Dampier to Bunbury pipeline.

The final third phase will incorporate exports to Asian markets.

The project has already received Lead Agency Services status by the Western Australian state government, meaning it will have streamlined approvals processes.

All environmental plans have now been submitted to the state government for approval and the federal government.