Name of the Project
Central Queensland hydrogen (CQ-H2) project.

Location
Queensland, Australia.

Project Owner/s
State-owned power company Stanwell Corporation, together with international partners, Iwatani Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kansai Electric Power Company, Marubeni and Australian energy infrastructure business APA Group.

Singapore’s Keppel Corporation joined the CQ-H2 project consortium in May 2023.

Project Description
The CQ-H2 project involves the development of a hydrogen production facility, hydrogen gas pipeline and hydrogen liquefaction facility, as well as the supply of hydrogen to an ammonia production facility.

The CQ-H2 project aims to deliver renewable hydrogen through its different carriers to Japan and Singapore, as well as supply large domestic customers in Central Queensland.

The CQ-H2 project will involve the installation of up to 640 MW of electrolysers.

The facility will initially produce 200 t/d of hydrogen and ramp up in 200 t/d increments as additional offtake agreements are secured, with full-scale ramp-up anticipated to be 800 t/d for commercial operations in 2031.

The project is expected to have a 30-year life span.

Potential Job Creation
At its peak, the project is expected to create up to 8 900 new jobs in construction, heavy manufacturing, and a range of local service industries in Queensland.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
Commercial operations are planned to commence from 2028.

Latest Developments
The federal and Queensland governments have announced joint funding of A$117-million for the further development of the  CQ-H2 project.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) will provide A$20-million in funding, while A$15-million will be provided by the Queensland government and the remaining A$81.8-million from consortium partners.

Arena has said that funding will go to Stanwell Corporation to support a front-end engineering design study for the project, which will also investigate the development of a hydrogen liquefaction facility based at the Port of Gladstone that will produce 400 t/d of liquefied hydrogen for export by the end of 2030.

Three hydrogen production and liquefaction facilities will be grid-connected, supported by power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Queensland wind and solar farms, provided through Stanwell’s renewable-energy portfolio.

Meanwhile, Keppel Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) on an industrial-scale green ammonia production facility in Australia.

Under the MoU, Keppel and IPL will explore the development of a green ammonia production facility.

This MoU follows an earlier feasibility study that Keppel, IPL and Temasek started in 2021, on producing green ammonia in Australia for export. Following the favourable findings of the studies, this MoU advances the next phase that involves the development of up to about 850 000 t/y of green ammonia production, as well as the related export facilities at Gladstone.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Stanwell Corporation, email hydrogen@stanwell.com.