Name of the Project
Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project.

Location
The project will be located at Port Hastings, in Victoria, Australia.

Project Owner/s
The Australian portion of the project will be coordinated by a consortium including Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), J-Power, Iwatani Corporation, Marubeni Corporation and AGL.

The Japanese portion will be coordinated by HySTRA.

Project Description
The project will consider the feasibility of converting brown coal from the Latrobe valley into hydrogen, which would then be liquefied and exported to Japan.

The HESC project will start with a pilot phase, aiming to demonstrate a hydrogen supply chain that includes production, transportation and storage, with the ultimate goal of a commercial-scale phase in the 2030s.

The pilot supply chain will include:

• a newly built hydrogen production plant, located at AGL’s Loy Yang complex, in the Latrobe Valley, which will produce hydrogen gas using existing technologies adapted specifically for Victorian brown coal;

• the transportation of hydrogen gas by road to a liquefaction and loading terminal at Bluescope’s existing site at the Port of Hastings; and

• the liquefication of the hydrogen gas at the Port of Hastings, which will then be shipped to Kobe, in Japan, by a marine carrier specifically developed for the task.

The pilot plant is expected to produce up to 70 kg/d of hydrogen gas. Up to 3 t of gaseous hydrogen will be produced over the one-year pilot. The amount of hydrogen gas produced during the commercial phase will be determined during the review of the pilot.

Potential Job Creation
The pilot project is expected to create 400 jobs across the Victorian supply chain  and potentially thousands more in the commercial phase.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at A$500-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The HESC project is being developed in two phases, beginning with a pilot phase.

Construction for the pilot phase will begin in 2019, following planning approvals. The pilot phase is expected to operate for about one year from 2020 to 2021.

If the pilot is successful, the project partners will progress towards commercial scale operations and a multibillion dollar commercial phase. The decision to proceed to a commercial phase will be made in the 2020s, with operations targeted for the 2030s, depending on the successful completion of the pilot phase, regulatory approvals, social licence to operate and hydrogen demand.

Latest Developments
Kawasaki and HEA announced the start of construction on the hydrogen liquefaction and loading terminal for the HESC in July.

The construction work includes building and mechanical installation, including a liquefaction facility and a storage container to be completed by June 2020.

This will be followed by commissioning, with the target operating period being 2020 to 2021.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
HESC, email info@hydrogenenergysupplychain.com.