Page 9 - AsianOil Week 45 2021

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Pilot project helping accelerate the development of the hydro-
Pilot announced on November 4 that it had gen industry.”
formed a consortium with APA and Warrego to The project is being co-funded by the gov-
jointly fund the Mid West Blue Hydrogen and ernment’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency
CCS Feasibility Study, which is expected to wrap (ARENA), and other project partners and col-
up in the first quarter of 2022. laborators include Snowy Hydro, Idemitsu,
The study aims to assess the CCS potential of Keolis Downer, Lake Macquarie City Council,
the Cliff Head oilfield and additional reservoirs Macquarie Agriculture and the University of
across the broader Perth Basin, the production Newcastle.
of blue hydrogen and commercialisation via The government unveiled two days later
the provision of CO2 management services and plans to invest AUD500mn ($365.1mn) into
sale of hydrogen. Genesis, Technip Energies and a new AUD1bn Low Emissions Technology
RISC have already been engaged to assist with Commercialisation Fund, with the Clean Energy
the feasibility study. Finance Corp. (CEFC) expected to raise the
Pilot said by partnering with APA and War- other $500mn from private investors. CEFC will
rego it had secured the three pillars necessary administer the fund.
for any blue hydrogen project’s success – car- Australian Energy Minister Angus Taylor
bon management, infrastructure and natural said the fund would “address a gap in the Aus-
gas supply. tralian market, where currently small, complex,
Pilot said it would undertake a standalone technology-focused startups can be considered
assessment of the Cliff Head project’s potential, to be too risky to finance”.
having previously estimated that the oilfield has The Australian Petroleum Production and
a CO2 injection capacity of up to 500,000 tpy for Exploration Association (APPEA) hailed the
13 years. fund as an important step towards the country
Interest in both hydrogen and CCS is pick- reaching its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
ing up as government and private investors “This fund will help with further develop-
seek to capitalise on the global transition ment of the technology we need to ensure the
towards clean energy. economy reaches its target of net zero by 2050
and it adds to the billions of dollars already
Government backing invested in technology such as [CCS],” APPEA
The Australian government unveiled on Novem- CEO Andrew McConville said.
ber 8 an AUD3mn ($2.2mn) feasibility study for He added: “With more investment from the
the development of a hydrogen hub at Port of government to support private sector innova-
Newcastle. tion, more can be done to advance CCS and
The Port of Newcastle, Macquarie unit Green hydrogen that will help deliver a lower-car-
Investment and Jemena signed an MoU to con- bon, secure energy future with no change in
duct the study, which will determine a range of our lifestyle and an economy that continues
potential use cases for green hydrogen in the to do well.”
region, including mobility, bunkering, energy He argued that scale, experience and tech-
production and industrial uses. nology gains were driving down the cost of
Jemena managing director Frank Tudor said: CCS, thereby creating the “potential to deliver
“This [study] is a critical first step in a journey competitive, large-scale abatement for existing
to bring green hydrogen to manufacturers and industries and new industries such as hydrogen
businesses in the Newcastle region, as well as and ammonia”.™

Week 45 12•November•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9