The Northern Territory (NT) government has released plans for a export-oriented hydrogen production hub fuelled by solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage.

The NT plan compliments the Australian government's national hydrogen strategy, which has marked the territory's capital Darwin as one of its seven hydrogen hubs. The NT sees its vast space and ample solar and wind resources, along with its proximity to trading partners in Asia-Pacific, giving it a competitive advantage in developing a hydrogen industry.

The plan is to build a renewables and hydrogen hub in the region surrounding Tenant Creek, which is almost 1,000km south of Darwin, that will be built in three stages, said the NT government.

It is located in the same region that a 17,000-20,000MW solar farm is proposed to generate electricity for the 4,200km Australia-Asia Power Link from Darwin to Singapore.

Another start-up venture is also working in the proposed renewables/hydrogen region, with Aqua Aerem working on technology to produce water captured from the air and produce green hydrogen, or that derived from renewable sources with no emissions.

The NT also has a renewable energy target of obtaining 50pc of electricity from renewable sources. Renewables only accounted for around 4pc of power output in the 2019-20 fiscal year to 30 June, while 86pc came from gas-fired power plants.

The three-stage plan has around 60MW of solar PV built by 2023, with more solar capacity added and the territory's gas-fired plants starting to retire during 2024-26. The final stage of 2027-30 will result in a total of 320MW of solar, 110MW of battery storage and the retirement of 200MW of thermal power and the addition of 80MW of hydrogen-capable power capacity. The plan also includes hydrogen refuelling stations along NT's highways for long-distance hydrogen haulage and other hydrogen-fuelled vehicles.

The NT government said last month it will carry out a study to build a carbon capture and storage facility at the port of Darwin that could be used for hydrogen exports, as well as for the LNG sector. Darwin is home to the 3.7mn t/yr Darwin LNG and the 8.9mn t/yr Ichthys LNG projects.

Source: argus media