Australia’s Renewable Energy Agency will award Hadean Energy $10.42m, or AU$15m, in order to trial hydrogen technology developed in Australia.
Apparently, the technology could also cut electrical consumption by approximately 30% over traditional electrolyzers, thereby reducing the cost of generating hydrogen for steelmaking.
It is worth noting that the company will construct and manage a pilot hydrogen plant in Victoria for $20.83m, or AU $30m, pending final installation conditions and regulatory approvals.
The plant’s hydrogen will be fed to another industrial site to produce steel, putting the technology to the test as to whether it can underpin lower-emissions steelmaking.
Green hydrogen is anticipated to take on a key role in cutting emissions from hard-to-electrify industries like green iron and steel and aviation. Yet, high production expenses still represent a major hurdle for industrial acceptance.
Green hydrogen has huge potential to lower emissions in challenging-to-electrify sectors, but the cost of manufacturing is a big barrier, said Darren Miller, ARENA CEO.
Interestingly, the pilot plant would be able to generate as much as 7 kilograms of hydrogen per hour and provide about 85% of the hydrogen required for an annealing procedure in steel manufacturing.
The technology was developed over a period of 8 years by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, with prior assistance coming from ARENA.
The most recent funding will enable Hadean to move the technology towards commercial maturity and develop local knowledge, supply chains, and advanced manufacturing capabilities.
Miller further added that this phase to trial hydrogen technology developed in Australia will offer the proof they need to determine its commercial viability and illustrate how technology from Hadean operates in a real-life industrial setting.
Apparently, the technology could also be utilized to manufacture low-emissions synthetic fuels in coming years, potentially cutting emissions in sectors that rely on energy-dense fuels.