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Design work begins on Kwinana Energy Transformation Hub to advance green hydrogen projects

Headshot of Stuart McKinnon
Stuart McKinnonThe West Australian
Future Energy Exports Co-operative Research Centre chief executive Eric May.
Camera IconFuture Energy Exports Co-operative Research Centre chief executive Eric May. Credit: Nic Ellis/The West Australian

A government collaboration with industry and research organisations has pushed the button on engineering and design for a small-scale LNG and renewable hydrogen demonstration plant at Kwinana.

The Future Energy Exports Co-operative Research Centre has engaged engineering firms Valmec and Kent to complete front-end engineering and design for the Kwinana Energy Transformation Hub.

The open-source hub will feature a 800kg-per-day green hydrogen electrolyser and a 10 tonnes-per-day LNG facility as well as a broad range of testing site open to third parties.

The hub is an industrial-scale facility to research, test and demonstrate decarbonisation technology solutions for the energy industry.

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The first-of-a-kind plant will also act as a certification of equipment and training for hydrogen and LNG facility operators.

It is expected to be operational by the end of 2024 or early 2025, subject to a successful capital raising by the end of this year.

Future Energy Exports Co-operative Research Centre chief executive Eric May said the FEED process was an essential step ahead of a final investment decision for the project expected next year.

“The Kwinana project will provide a tangible example of a project that is directly dealing with reducing emissions and improving efficiencies for a lower-carbon energy future,” he said.

Professor May, who was also named WA Scientist of the Year in 2021, said the project would also help place WA at the forefront of finding solutions for a successful energy transition.

“Seeing the KETH project reach this milestone is an excellent outcome for our CRC and its mission to actually demonstrate industrial-scale process technologies that can decarbonise LNG exports and lower the cost of clean hydrogen production,” he said.

The chief executive of the company developing the Kwinana project on behalf of the CRC, Reinoud Blok, said the KETH was a great example of collaboration between industry, government, training and research organisations.

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