Latest news with #InterContinentalEnergy
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Oil giant BP backs out of Australia Renewable Energy Hub in WA's Pilbara
Global oil giant BP has backed out of its majority share in a $55 billion green energy hub in Western Australia's Pilbara region, dealing Australia's clean energy transition another major blow. The Australia Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), 1,860 kilometres north-east of Perth, is tipped to deliver 26 gigawatts of solar and wind power by 2029, making it one of the largest renewable energy projects in the world. If built, it will be the equivalent of about a third of all the electricity generated in Australia, and close to the country's entire current renewable energy production. But the future of the hub is now uncertain. The project has been touted as a major part of WA's renewables strategy, with the resources-heavy Pilbara producing more than 40 per cent of the state's carbon emissions. However, BP is not the first company to pull its support, with Macquarie removing its backing last year. BP has held 63.7 per cent of the AREH shares since 2022. But the British multinational said it would exit the project as operator and equity holder because the project no longer aligned with BP's direction. "This decision reflects BP's recent strategy reset, which will see BP grow its upstream oil and gas business, focus its downstream business, and invest with increasing discipline into the transition," a spokesperson told the ABC. CWP and InterContinental Energy remain backers of AREH, with the latter assuming control of its operation. InterContinental Energy chief executive Alex Tancock pledged to take the project to the next phase of development. "We believe strongly in the project's potential to decarbonise the Pilbara and diversify the state's economy, and we look forward to delivering on this shared vision," he said. AREH backers had pegged a 6,400 square kilometre footprint for the project north-east of Port Hedland, the world's largest bulk export port. BP hoped to connect the hub to Port Hedland by a "Pilbara green link network", which could power major industrial proposals planned for the region, such as POSCO's Pilbara green iron project. More than 1,700 wind turbines and hundreds of solar panels were slated for the site, along with 56-metre-high tanks for the storage of green ammonia. Backers envisioned producing 10 million tonnes of the clean fuel source each year. The substance would then be shipped overseas via a new $550 million cargo facility being built at Lumsden Point by the state and federal governments. But BP's withdrawal leaves the future of the renewable energy hub in question. University of Western Australia adjunct professor and director of Future Smart Stategies, Ray Wills, said he was unsurprised by BP's decision, which he labelled "sensible". "They were particularly looking to produce hydrogen, and that really was the weakness of the project," Dr Wills said. Dr Wills said the location of the project was also a major flaw, and Tasmania or Western Australia's mid-west region would be better suited. "Pilbara's a difficult place to work in — it's expensive and the wind resources are less good," he said. It is the third time BP has withdrawn from a WA-based alternative fuel project in the past six months, including its $1 billion Kwinana hydrogen and clean fuel projects. Other oil and gas companies such as Andrew Forrest's Fortescue have been shifting away from green hydrogen projects across the world. In its quarterly results announced this week, Fortescue said it would axe its hydrogen ventures in Queensland and Arizona. Meanwhile, Woodside has walked away from a major US-based hydrogen project. Despite this, Dr Wills said green hydrogen was not "pie in the sky" technology. "The time is now, but the question is what you're going to do with hydrogen," he said. "Hydrogen needs to be used for making green steel … putting it into a ship and shipping it somewhere else is not yet economic." Despite BP's withdrawal, Dr Wills was confident the project would go ahead, eventually. "The project will one day occur, it just won't occur on the time frame that's been offered," he said. "It makes sense that we have to put renewables wherever we've got industry, to ensure industry can decarbonise.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
BP abandons green hydrogen project in Australia in shift towards oil and gas
July 24 (Reuters) - BP (BP.L), opens new tab will exit its planned green hydrogen production facility in Australia as the British energy major pivots back to oil and gas, a spokesperson said on Thursday. The company has informed its partners in the Australian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) that it intends to exit the project as operator and equity holder, the spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The oil major has slashed planned renewables spending and refocused investments to oil and gas after underperformance in recent months led to criticism from investors. The AREH aims to develop up to 26 gigawatts (GW) of solar and wind capacity to produce as much as 1.6 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year, making it one of the world's largest renewable energy projects. BP currently has a 63.57% stake in the project, according to the company's website. The other joint venture partners include privately owned InterContinental Energy and CWP Global.
West Australian
13-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
ICE says new tech makes massive south-eastern coast green hydrogen project economically viable
The boss of one of the companies involved in an enormous green hydrogen project on WA's south-eastern coast says it has created new technology that will make the planned development 'economically viable'. InterContinental Energy is part of a consortium looking to develop the US$70 billion ($110b) Western Green Energy Hub north-west of Eucla. The plan is for the construction and operation of 3000 wind turbines, 35 solar farms, and a renewable hydrogen facility across 22,690sqkm that would employ up to 8000 people. Offshore elements comprise a marine offloading facility, desalination plant, brine pipeline, and an ammonia export pipeline. The project has the potential to generate more than 50 gigawatts to produce about 3.5 million tonnes per annum of zero-carbon green hydrogen — making it one of the biggest power projects in the world. WEGH will be built in several phases, with the first stage covering 1900sqkm aiming to generate about 6GW to produce 330,000tpa. The relevant environmental authorities at both the State and Federal levels are currently assessing the proposal, with opposition already formed around the project's potential impacts on the extensive world-class limestone karst cave systems in the area. There also continues to be doubts expressed about the economics of green hydrogen. However, ICE on Tuesday said it had developed the P2(H2)Node, a patented modular system that would transform how green hydrogen was produced. It said the system directly integrated electrolysis plants with wind and solar farms, eliminating the need for long-distance electricity transmission, cutting costs and boosting efficiency. ICE said by standardising design and using modular construction, the system would deliver up to 10 per cent lower capital expenditure and up to 10 per cent higher operational efficiency than conventional approaches. It said the system had taken ICE's Perth-based team four years to develop, with patents granted in Australia and the US, and patents pending in several other countries. ICE chief executive Alexander Tancock said the Node system would reduce complexity, accelerate project deployment and make giga-scale green hydrogen production both economically viable and globally scalable. 'The P2(H2)Node system is designed with global application in mind, particularly for coastal and remote regions rich in renewable resources but lacking robust grid infrastructure,' he said. 'Its decentralised, modular and flexible architecture allows for efficient deployment in a variety of settings, making giga-scale green hydrogen production feasible in locations where traditional models face significant barriers.' Mr Tancock said conventional centralised models required expensive electricity transmission, leading to energy losses and inefficiency. 'The patented P2(H2)Node system flips this model by co-locating giga-scale hydrogen production with wind and solar farms, ensuring power is used where it's generated,' he said. ICE's Australian boss Isaac Hinton said the Node system could unlock the full potential of its portfolio of giga-scale projects, as well as others globally. In particular, ICE's largest project WEGH, being developed in partnership with CWP and Mirning Green Energy, stood to benefit significantly. The node would enable the lowest cost, large-scale production of a range of hydrogen derivatives, including ammonia and e-fuels. 'With the support of recently announced Federal Government hydrogen incentives, WGEH is projected to drive down production costs for green ammonia below US$650 per tonne, unlocking transformative investment opportunities and significant job creation in Western Australia and the country more broadly,' Mr Hinton said. 'By making green hydrogen, ammonia and e-fuels cost-competitive, the P2(H2)Node will support decarbonisation across hard-to-abate sectors like steel, shipping, aviation and fertilisers.' ICE will unveil the details and design of the Node system at the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands next week. A final investment decision on WEGH is not expected until 2029.
