Australia’s first commercial turquoise hydrogen demonstration plant starts up
ASX-listed Hazer has taken more than 13 years to reach this stage of development with its proprietary process
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A final investment decision in the project, which was part-funded by A$9.41m ($6.14m) from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, was taken back in July 2020.
Queensland-based Turquoise Group is also planning to start up its own commercial turquoise-hydrogen demonstration plant in the first quarter of this year, using plasma-torch technology.
The resulting powder is 80-95% graphite, an ingredient used in the manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries, and thus can be sold for profit.
The Perth-based company has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Japanese companies Chubu Electric and Chiyoda to jointly plan a turquoise hydrogen plant in the Chubu region of central Japan using the Hazer process, which would produce 50,000-100,000 tonnes per year.
It is also working with Canadian utility FortisBC on a potential plant in Vancouver that would produce up to 2,500 tonnes of turquoise hydrogen a year.
Hazer’s business model is to license its technology and receive royalty revenues in order to avoid large-scale capital-expenditure exposure.
Despite not having received any income from its operations, the company — which trades on Australia’s ASX stock exchange — has a market capitalisation of A$136.74m ($89.25m).
Speaking about the commercial demonstration plant (CDP), Hazer CEO Glenn Corrie said: “This is a landmark achievement for Hazer, as we realise the successful start-up of our CDP and the production of low-cost, low-emissions hydrogen and graphitic carbon utilising our world-first pyrolysis technology.
“As the team strive towards extended continuous operation of the plant in 2024 we are excited to build on this momentum for the next scale-up of the technology with our global partners in key markets, including North America, Europe and Asia.
“This is an important juncture for Hazer commercialisation strategy. Our pipeline of opportunities is growing and with our CDP proving our technology can operate at commercial scale, I’m confident that 2024 will open-up further demand for our disruptive technology that can provide clean hydrogen to accelerate global decarbonisation.”