BP is undertaking a feasibility study into a green hydrogen production facility in Australia that would be powered by 1.5GW of greenfield wind or solar generation.
The oil supermajor, headed by Bernard Looney (pictured), will invest A$2.7m in the research with a further A$1.7m coming from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s Advancing Renewables Program.
The facility, in Geraldton, Western Australia, will look to produce up to 1000 kilo-tonnes of green ammonia from onsite or from grid-sources renewables.
Solar joint venture Lightsource BP will advise on the generation solution, said BP.
BP Asia-Pacific chief operation officer Frederic Baudry said: “Western Australia is the study location due, in part, to its vast solar and wind resources, existing port infrastructure and proximity to large, long-term markets for green hydrogen.
“The study further demonstrates bp’s long-standing investment and commitment to the region. I would like to thank the Australian government for their support for this important project and the development of advanced fuels in Australia.”
Dev Sanyal, executive vice president of BP’s gas and low carbon division, added that green hydrogen will play an important role in its net zero agenda and in “enabling further growth of renewable power”.
“This aligns with bp’s ambition to support the world’s decarbonisation agenda. This feasibility study is an important step towards developing a large-scale export project and understanding this hydrogen value chain in full.”