The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funds will be used for technical, economic, and regulatory progress on ICE’s Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), which aims to combine 26GW of renewables to produce 1.6 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
The studies funded by ARENA will focus on the project’s green hydrogen production at Boodarie near Port Hedland and supply to industry, as well as environmental and social considerations.
It gives a new boost to the development after oil and gas major BP pulled out of the scheme amid its reset back toward fossil fuels.
CEO of the AREH project company, Neil Parker, said the funding would bring the project closer to realisation.
Hydrogen produced by the mega project is planned to be used for green iron and ammonia production, which could be exported to Asian buyers.
ICE’s Head of Australia, Isaac Hinton, said the project could help preserve the Pilbara’s iron ore industry.
“There is an incredible strategic opportunity for the Pilbara to combine its world-class renewable energy and iron ore resources to capture more of the value chain,” he said.
The new funding provides a boost to ICE’s ambitions in Western Australia.
Despite wider industry concerns about demand for hydrogen products from projects of such scale, ICE remains confident.
ICE CEO Alex Tancock previously told H2 View that the AREH project would have the capacity to meet just 4% of the region’s iron ore exports. “Demand there is going to be ginormous,” he said.
Why Intercontinental Energy wants to build the world’s biggest green hydrogen projects
Zoom in on the southeast coast of Western Australia and you’ll find little more than a rail line and vast wilderness. But to Intercontinental Energy, it’s the foundation for a 70GW renewables-powered hydrogen superhub.
Alex Tancock sees a 15,000-square-kilometre blank canvas for over 20GW of green hydrogen production capacity from 70GW of renewables, that could fuel future shipping fleets and meet foreign energy demand.
“It takes an hour and 10 minutes to fly across WGEH [Western Green Energy Hub] in a helicopter,” the CEO told H2 View. “It’s the size of Wales. But it’s got a higher wind speed and a solar resource better than Spain…”
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