Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 27

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Jemena urges Australia

to back hydrogen

AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIAN natural gas utility Jemena has and wind power into hydrogen gas, which will
called on the government to put hydrogen front then be stored for use in the company’s NSW gas
and centre of the national energy strategy. network. The AUD15mn ($10.4mn) trial aims to
Responding to the government’s Technology power 250 homes and supply a hydrogen refuel-
Investment Roadmap (TIR), Jemena executive ling station.
general manager of gas distribution Jennifer Jemena is one of a growing number of Aus-
Purdie said on June 27 that it was “time to chal- tralian firms exploring the potential of hydro-
lenge the notion that customers can only access gen, with Woodside Petroleum announcing on
renewable energy through the electricity grid”. April 6 that it had teamed up with Japan’s JERA,
Jemena has called for a national certification Marubeni and IHI to study large-scale hydro-
programme that will allow consumers to buy gen-as-ammonia exports for use by the East
verified and accredited zero emission gas. Asian country’s coal-fired power generators.
“There is a ready market for renewable gas A relatively unknown company, H2X,
and we are confident that through raising aware- announced plans last month to start building
ness, unlocking seed funding and incentivising hydrogen-fuelled hybrid electric vehicles (EVs)
market-scale projects, Australia can transition to in the Illawarra within the next two years.
a lower-carbon future,” Purdie said. Commenting on the design on hybrid hydro-
The company said its News South Wales gas gen EVs, CSIRO senior research scientist Chris-
network could be repurposed to sell zero-carbon topher Munnings said: “You have the option of
gases, arguing that this would be a cheaper solu- either filling it up at a hydrogen refuelling station
tion than adapting the electricity grid to handle like you would with a regular hybrid or petrol
the same load. vehicle, or you can also plug it into a wall socket
Jemena is currently conducting a green at home and you can charge it to use it as an
hydrogen trial in NSW at the Western Sydney [EV].”™
Green Gas Project. The project will convert solar

NEWS IN BRIEF

FINANCING infrastructure. L&T Infrastructure Finance is GRID
a leading arranger and financier of renewable
L&T receives $50mn loan energy in India. Hitachi acquires ABB’s grid
With the closure of this financing deal with
funding form AIIB AIIB, LTIF has further diversified its long- business
term funding sources.
India’s L&T Infrastructure Finance Company “Investments from an organisation like Hitachi has completed its 80.1% investment in
(LTIF) has received the first tranche of AIIB, that follows a stringent due diligence ABB’s operating power.
$50mn of the $100mn external commercial process of the company’s capacity, viability, The new company, Hitachi ABB Power
borrowing loan from Asian Infrastructure past performance and regulatory compliances Grids Ltd was launched and began operations
Investment Bank (AIIB). before any investments, reiterates our on July 1.
The development marks AIIB’s first loan commitment to green project financing,” said The purchase price of Hitachi ABB Power
to a non-banking financial company (NBFC) Dinanath Dubhashi, Managing Director and Grids’ 80.1% stake was $6.85bn. Hitachi will
in India. CEO of L&T Finance Holdings. now consider to acquire the remaining 19.9%
The loan proceeds will be used to on- “Our lending to clean energy goes beyond stake of Hitachi ABB Power Grids – making it
lend to large and mid-scale wind and solar the actual book and we have today built an a wholly owned subsidiary – after 2023.
power infrastructure projects in India. LTIF’s ecosystem for all stakeholders to be a part of Hitachi ABB Power Grids will expand
collaboration with AIIB will also help the the green energy initiative. We firmly believe Hitachi’s energy solutions business globally as
company bolster its environmental and social that renewable power holds great potential in a core part of the company’s Social Innovation
capabilities, which will enable it to tap the fighting the dual challenge of climate change Business.
international market for green finance, in the and the ever-growing demand for energy,” he Hitachi and Hitachi ABB Power Grids will
future. said in a statement. provide innovative energy solutions spanning
The proposed financing supports AIIB’s the Energy (utilities), Mobility, Smart Life
sustainable energy for Asia strategy and (cities), Industry, and IT sectors.
strategy on mobilising private capital for The rapid rise in distributed power

Week 27 08•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P13