Dubbed MercurHy, the project aims to supply green hydrogen whilst leveraging economies of scale. The company intends to scale up capacity over three phases: 150MW, 500MW, and 1GW, which it says will allow the market for green hydrogen to develop and later allow it to capitalise on future electrolyser price reductions.

H2 View understands Xodus has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the supply of hydrogen with pure-play silica sand firm, VRX-Silica for the manufacture of solar panels locally to supply national and international demand.

Xodus has also said it has advanced discussions with other potential hydrogen offtakers and has the support of local landowners and the Western Australian Government.

The company hopes to leverage on Western Australia’s access to local industries looking to decarbonise, its renewable energy resources, and access to export markets via local ports.

The Hydrogen Council’s Global Hydrogen Flows report, released this year (2022), found that Australia is likely to become a key exporter of hydrogen and its derivative to Asia by 2050.

Read more: Regional hydrogen supply and demand mismatch will force global trade links by 2050, report predicts

“As we accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy, the investment landscape is becoming more and more complex as markets, policies and regulations also undergo rapid change,” said Stephen Swindell, Managing Director of Xodus. “Upscaling of the hydrogen sector is still in its infancy and the local supply chains must be developed further to maximise opportunities.”

Swindell continued, “We believe the world needs high quality, scalable renewable energy projects such as MercurHy to bridge the gap between the size of the currently operational projects and the future gigawatt-sized developments. The aim of this project is to push the supply chain forward, reduce technology risks, and achieve cost reductions. “