Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI) conducted a successful world-first sea trial of the liquefied hydrogen carrier SUISO FRONTIER between the 14th and 15th of October.
Australia’s emerging hydrogen industry is already showing
promising signs of success and the Latrobe Valley is at the heart of this,
thanks to the HESC Pilot Project.
Join this webinar to learn about the HESC Project’s progress
since being launched in 2018 and understand how the Latrobe Valley can be at
the forefront of the national energy transition to lower emissions via the fuel
of the future, clean hydrogen. Community members will have the opportunity to
ask all panellists questions.
Speaking at this webinar is:
Dr Patrick Hartley, Leader of CSIRO’s Hydrogen Mission
Jeremy Stone, Director of J-Power Latrobe Valley
Ian Filby, Project Director of the CarbonNet Project
Hirofumi Kawazoe, General Manager of Hydrogen Engineering Australia Pty Ltd
Jane Oakley, Chief Executive Officer of Committee for Gippsland
To attend the 10AM-11AM AEDT session (Patrick Hartley will only be speaking at 10AM) register here To attend the 6PM-7PM AEDT session register here
Carbon capture and
storage (CCS) is one of five priority low emissions technologies in the
Australian Government’s First Low Emissions
Technology Statement, because its widespread
deployment will underpin new low emissions industries (including
hydrogen) and provide a potential decarbonisation pathway for hard-to-abate
industries.
CCS has been in
commercial operation around the world for decades, in a wide variety of
applications including power generation, industry and hydrogen production.
According to most
recent data
from the Global CCS Institute, there are now 58 CCS
facilities in various stages of development globally. These include 20 in
operation, three under construction, and 35 in various stages of development
with an estimated combined capture capacity of 127 million tonnes of CO2 per
annum.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) emphasises carbon capture as a key
technology for emission reductions and estimates that roughly 2,000 CCS
facilities are necessary by 2050, to limit global warming. An interactive map of CCS
facilities around the globe can be found via the Global CCS Institute, here.
Among the facilities featured is one off
the northwest coast of Western Australia. Here lies the Gorgon natural gas facility and the site
of the largest dedicated geological storage CCS
facility in the world. The Project is not yet at full capacity but plans to
inject and permanently store between 3.4 and 4 million tonnes of CO2 each year.
This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Gorgon Project by
approximately 40 percent.
In February this year, the Gorgon Project passed the milestone of successfully
capturing and storing one million tonnes of CO2 since commencing operations.
The Snøhvit CO2 Storage facilities is in
the Barents Sea, offshore from Norway. The CO2 is captured at an LNG facility
on the island of Melkøya, northern Norway and transported via pipeline back to
the Snøhvit field offshore where it is injected into an offshore storage
reservoir. The facility is designed to capture 0.7 million tonnes per year of
CO2 and more than 4 million tonnes of CO2 has been stored to date since 2008.
Closer to home in Victoria, the CO2CRC Otway Project has been
operating for over 15 years and has injected over 80,000 tonnes of CO2
as a demonstration site. It conducts extensive research internationally
and in Australia to develop and improve processes, reduce uncertainty and
decrease the cost of CCS. Research at the Otway site also feeds into the CarbonNet project. The commercial
phase of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project requires a CCS
solution, which is what the CarbonNet project provides.
Sources: The Global CCS Institute The Global CCS Institute database at co2re.co Chevron Australia CO2CRC
Federation University, in partnership with Australian Carbon Innovation, will analyse hydrogen production quality and performance of the gasification and refining plant in the Latrobe Valley as part of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Pilot.
The Hydrogen
Production Evaluation Research Project will be delivered by researchers from Federation
University’s Carbon Technology Centre who will work closely with J-POWER Latrobe Valley, which is
designing, building and operating the hydrogen production facility.
Federation University Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Chris Hutchison said the partnership, “illustrates how Federation University’s regional campuses are ideally placed to support the growth of new Industries that will provide high value local employment for years to come”.
Researchers
will assess samples of hydrogen produced from the pilot project, examine
by-product composition, production efficiency and energy usage. Their analysis
will help inform decision making on commercialising the HESC Project.
Australian
Carbon Innovation Chief Executive Officer, Brian Davey, said: “This agreement
is recognition that regional centres of higher learning such as Federation
University, are able to provide world class research services to international
companies that will help Gippsland transition to sustainable and low emission
fuels for the future.”
Federation
University and Australian Carbon Innovation’s work will build expertise and skills
for a hydrogen future, a future with potential employment and economic development
benefits to the local region and the nation.
“The HESC project offers a real opportunity for
Latrobe Valley research agencies, universities, and technical firms to engage
with and build knowledge and capacity in clean hydrogen production,” said
Non-Executive Director of J-POWER LV, Jeremy Stone.
“A commercial-scale HESC Project would bring more innovation, technology and jobs as the region transition to a clean energy future.”
Australia is
taking the lead in developing a Certificate of Origin for clean hydrogen and
the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project is contributing to shaping
these standards.
The scheme will
cover emissions released in the atmosphere as a result of the hydrogen production
process. It is likely to
be domestic initially, with the ability to meet requirements of a global scheme
in the future.
Reliable
emissions tracing is vital to ensure the Australian Government can track
progress towards its 2015 Paris Agreement commitments, to limit global
temperature increases by reducing national greenhouse gas emissions.
This tracing is
also important so major importers of hydrogen can track progress toward their emissions reduction
targets.
General Manager
for Hydrogen Engineering Australian, Hirofumi Kawazoe, explained how this is
relevant to the potential commercial HESC Project.
“If
the HESC Project proceeds to commercialisation, CCS technology will be used to
make the hydrogen production process virtually CO2 emission-free,” said Mr
Kawazoe.
“A Certificate of Origin would take
this into account as it measures the amount of CO2 released into the
atmosphere.”
A commercial-scale HESC Project would in fact play a role in reducing CO2 emissions, and in turn contribute to the Australian Government’s progress towards Paris commitments.
“A
commercial-scale HESC Project would produce up to 225,000 tonnes of hydrogen
per year and if this was used for power generation
it could reduce global CO2 emissions by some three million tonnes per year[i]
– the equivalent of removing 600,000 cars off the road.”
The
certification of hydrogen was a recommendation of the National Hydrogen Strategy prepared by Chief Scientist Dr Alan
Finkel. Another reason a scheme is important is that it will avoid
misunderstanding and provide consumers with transparency around the
environmental impacts of the hydrogen, providing flexibility of being
technology neutral.
The Department
of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources states that ‘a hydrogen certification
scheme is a standardised process of tracing and certifying where and how
hydrogen is made, and the associated environmental impacts (for example,
greenhouse gas emissions).’
HESC Project
partners are part of a consultative group helping the department understand the
most important high-level aspects of an international and/or domestic hydrogen
certification scheme.
The HESC
Project Partners identify three important features of hydrogen certification:
A
scheme should be technology neutral and inclusive, consider carbon-reduction
activities and avoid resorting to terminology centred around different colours
of hydrogen.
A
certification system, especially methodology for estimation of greenhouse gas
emissions, should be transparent in approach and assumptions to build
confidence.
An
international body would be best placed to promote a guarantee of origin scheme
on a global scale.
Australia can
play a leading role in shaping an international guarantee of origin scheme
built for the global hydrogen market. HESC Project Partners welcome the
opportunity to continue contributing to this consultative process.
More detail on the HESC Project Partner’s response to the
hydrogen certification survey, which closed 22 June 2020, is available to read here.
[i] as referred to by the Japanese New Energy and
Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) in 2015.
Each element in the
Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Pilot supply chain is nearing operations
stage. Site teams in Japan and Australia are working to finalise construction
and carry out the all-important commissioning work, to ensure all systems and
components are in perfect working order.
At the Latrobe
Valley gasification and gas refining facility, construction concluded in early
October and commissioning is well underway. This involves a range of
activities, including filling and testing lines and tanks and confirming the
electronics and control systems.
According to
Non-Executive Director of J-POWER LV, Jeremy Stone, “as these important tests
are almost complete, we expect the production of hydrogen gas from coal in the
last quarter of 2020.”
150 kilometres away
in Hastings, the on-site construction office has been removed and plant
assessments are also in progress.
A Helium Buffer Tank which will be used for liquefaction processing in Hastings
The main components of the hydrogen liquefier are
being tested; the cold box with heat exchangers, the helium compressor, and the
helium expansion turbine.
General Manager for Hydrogen Engineering Australia, Hirofumi
Kawazoe explained the operation of these components.
“Pressurised hydrogen gas will be fed into the vacuum insulated cold box and pre-cooled. The gas is then heat-exchanged with
liquefied helium, which is produced from a helium refrigeration cycle, turned into liquid and
transferred to a storage container,” Mr Kawazoe said.
Thousands of
kilometres away from both these sites, the Japanese Minister for Economy, Trade
and Industry (METI), recently toured the HESC Pilot facilities in Kobe,
Liquefied Hydrogen Storage and Unloading Terminal and the SUISO FRONTIER.
Hiroshi Kajiyama went onboard the SUISO FRONTIER, which will carry liquid hydrogen between Japan and Australia. Following the recent installation of the liquefied hydrogen storage tank, that will transfer liquefied hydrogen at -253 degrees Celsius, verification tests are underway.
The vessel will soon undergo assessment while doing domestic sea trials before setting off in 2021 to sail to Hastings.
Mr Hiroi at the HESC Project site in Hastings in September 2020
Shinichi
Hiroi has only recently arrived in Australia but is looking forward to applying
his technical expertise to the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project and
is already enjoying life in Australia.
Mr Hiroi is Deputy
Section Manager for the Technical and Engineering team with Iwatani Corporation,
one of the project partners responsible for the Hydrogen Liquefaction and
Loading Terminal in Hastings.
He has
undertaken training at one of the three commercial liquefied hydrogen plants that
Iwatani operates in Japan – bringing superlative expertise and experience to
support the safety of operations in Hastings.
This deep
understanding of the plant operations and equipment will be imparted to local
HESC Project staff already working in Hastings.
The commencement
of the HESC Pilot is significant for Mr Hiroi as he joined Iwatani Corporation
to build a career centred around the fuel of the future, hydrogen. Iwatani has
regarded hydrogen as the ultimate clean source of energy since 1941 and is a
global leader in pursuing a hydrogen enabled future.
“HESC is a
world first project and once the pilot project is successful, I hope people
will understand the possibilities of hydrogen. The success will trigger
expansion for hydrogen projects worldwide and they will see how liquid hydrogen
can be transported by ship all over the world,” Mr Hiroi said.
“Hydrogen is a
large piece of a sustainable society, as it has the potential to be used as a
sustainable energy,” he says.
Mr Hiroi is the
only Iwatani staff member living in Victoria but is enjoying his time and can’t
help but feel a twist of fate brought him here.
“When I was a
university student 15 years ago in Japan, I had a part-time job at an Outback
Steak House, which I travelled to on a bicycle designed and made by Kawasaki
(another HESC Project Partner), so it is very funny to be in this situation
now”.
“The country is so beautiful and big, and I can’t help loving all of it. Particularly Hastings. I saw a wild Koala in Hastings and thought to myself ‘I’m finally in Australia’.”
Mr Hiroi will
live in Melbourne for the duration of the HESC pilot project, making necessary visits
and safety inspections to Hastings.
HESC Project Partners welcome the Federal Government’s first Low Emissions Technology Statement released on the 22nd of September, and its endorsement of clean hydrogen as the fuel of the future.
Image credit: Industry.gov.au
As part of the Australian Government’s Technology Investment
Roadmap, there is a commitment to bring down emissions while strengthening the
economy by investing in technology development, including clean hydrogen and
carbon capture and storage (CCS) as some of the best means to reduce emissions
while benefitting the economy and creating jobs. The Project Partners also
support enabling key agencies such as ARENA and the CEFC to contribute to these
important technology ambitions.
Addressing the National Press Club, the Minister for Energy
and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor said that the Federal Government’s plan
has three focuses – lower emissions, lower costs and more jobs. He touted
hydrogen and CCS as priority technologies, critical for public investment under
a AUD $1.9 billion package to achieve these objectives. The HESC Project
Partners particularly welcome the Minister’s emphasis on international
cooperation for hydrogen market development and his praise of our project as a
pioneer in hydrogen between Australia and Japan.
The world-first HESC
Project, supported by the Japanese, Federal and Victorian Government’s, aims to
produce clean hydrogen using Latrobe Valley coal. In the commercial phase of the
project it will utilise a Carbon Capture and Storage
(CCS) solution, provided by the joint Federal
and Victorian Governments’ CarbonNet
Project. This is a viable and efficient low-carbon method of producing hydrogen
at scale and will be a key contributor to an energy transition in Australia and
the world.
The Roadmap, prepared with advice
from a panel of industry leaders, investors and researchers chaired by
Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, is a path forward for creating a
global hydrogen market with Australia at his centre as a producing powerhouse.
The HESC Project
places Latrobe
Valley and Victoria at the forefront of the national energy transition to lower
emissions via the fuel of the future, clean hydrogen, and gears the region to become a global
hydrogen export hub, in line with the Federal Government’s ambitions.
The HESC pilot operations begin in the last
quarter of 2020, working towards creating a commercially viable hydrogen energy
supply chain in line with the government objectives of hydrogen
production and informed by technical feasibility, social licence to operate,
market demand and other macroeconomic factors.
The HESC Project has
potential to be the cornerstone of Australia’s hydrogen future and a key
contributor to global greenhouse gas
The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project, alongside the CarbonNet Project, has the potential to assist in Victoria’s energy transition and the decarbonisation of the state’s industry and manufacturing base.
Currently, the CarbonNet Project is investigating the potential for establishing a world-class, large-scale, multi-user carbon capture and storage (CCS) network.
CarbonNet’s
proposed carbon dioxide storage site in the offshore Gippsland Basin (in Bass
Strait) is a very large dome-shaped geological structure, with many rock
layers.
The
porous layers of sandstone can act like a sponge to store the CO2,
while layers of shale and coal form the barriers which will trap the CO2 –
the same way oil and gas has been trapped in Bass Strait naturally for millions
of years.
The
site – Pelican – is large enough to store at least five million tonnes of CO2 per
year for 25 years. That’s the equivalent of CO2 emissions from
around one million cars every year.
Recently,
rock from Pelican has been analysed in a world-class laboratory to ascertain if
it has the storage capacity required. Early data indicates that reservoir
quality is better than predicted.
To analyse the rock, a one-metre segment of core drilled from deep under the Pelican site is being analysed by a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner in Perth. The CT scanner uses x-rays to build up a three-dimensional image inside the core sample to assess the properties of the rock ahead of further testing. It uses the same techniques as a medical CT scanner.
CT
scanning is a non-destructive method and is typically run at the start of a
core analysis project. Scanning identifies geological features,
sedimentary bedding and composition changes that are taken into consideration
when designing the detailed core analysis project.
Rock
core analyses from the Pelican site are expected to be complete in early 2021.
This
article originally appeared on CarbonNet and has been repurposed with
permission.
Construction of the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project’s Hastings site, where hydrogen will be liquefied, stored, and loaded onto a ship for export, has been completed. At the Latrobe Valley coal gasification and refining facility, the end of construction is imminent and commissioning is underway.
At both sites, 208
local engineers, tradespeople and apprentices are directly involved in
construction.
In Latrobe
Valley, where coal gasification and gas refining will take place, logistics delays
caused by COVID-19 have been managed to minimise impacts on the building
timeline.
“Despite the
challenges, construction and commissioning is scheduled to be completed by the
end of September”, said Non-Executive Director of J-POWER LV, Jeremy Stone.
The HESC Project site in Latrobe Valley
Electric Power Development Co., Ltd. (J-POWER) is
designing, building and operating the Latrobe Valley facility.
Complex building
and engineering works have been occurring not just in the Latrobe Valley but in
Hastings too, where the construction of Australia’s first hydrogen liquefaction
facility is now complete. With a footprint equivalent to one-quarter of an
Australian Rules Football (AFL) field, the small site houses critical pieces of
infrastructure for the HESC Project – the liquefier and liquefied hydrogen tank.
“These are
significant milestones for HESC Project, and also for Australia in terms of
becoming a leading country for hydrogen export in the future” said General
Manager for Hydrogen Engineering Australia, Hirofumi Kawazoe.
HESC Project partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries has significant
experience in the storage and transport of liquefied hydrogen. It built the
storage tanks used to hold hydrogen rocket fuel at the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency Tanegashima Space Centre. This technology has been in use
for more than 25 years.
In Japan, the
HESC Project has achieved another major achievement recently with the
completion of construction of its Kobe liquefied hydrogen storage and unloading
terminal.
The terminal is
the final component of the Project’s supply chain. The world’s first liquefied
hydrogen carrier, SUISO FRONTIER, will transport its cargo from the Port of
Hastings, to the Kobe terminal.
The HESC Project site in Hastings
With the demonstration of the HESC Project about to commence, it was recognised last month as a contributor to Australia and Japan’s COVID-19 recovery.
In a statement proceeding a meeting between Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe and Australian Prime Minister the Hon Scott Morrison MP on
9 July, 2020, the two world leaders acknowledged ongoing collaboration between
the two nations on the world first HESC Project.
In
a joint media release, it was stated: “The leaders highlighted their
determination to support a robust economic recovery and rebuild more
sustainable, inclusive and resilient economies. The leaders acknowledged energy
transitions, including through the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain Pilot project
in Victoria, and implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation on Carbon
Recycling signed by ministers in 2019, will be part of the recovery strategy.”
Mass quantities of liquefied hydrogen have not been shipped
across open waters before, but the newly built SUISO FRONTIER overcomes the challenges
of transportation. The ship will play a key role in realising the HESC Project’s
world-first demonstration of a hydrogen supply chain between Australia and
Japan.
When
hydrogen gas is liquefied, it becomes denser to the point of 1/800 of its
original gas-state volume.
This
highlight the benefits and challenges of transporting liquid hydrogen.
Over
longer distances it is usually more cost-effective to transport hydrogen in
liquid form, since a liquid hydrogen tank can hold substantially more hydrogen
than a pressurised gas tank. However, preventing heat from turning the liquid
hydrogen back into a gas – known as ‘boil off’ – presents unique challenges.
During
the HESC Project, the 116-metre-long SUISO FRONTIER will make one trip between
Australia and Japan every few months. On board will be a crew of no more than
25 people.
To
prevent boil off during its journey, HESC project partner and shipbuilder Kawasaki
Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI), developed specialised insulation technology.
The
1,250m3 storage tank is a world-leading and game-changing
technological development likely to boost the global hydrogen economy.
It
features a cryogenic storage element, a double-shell structure with vacuum
insulation and is supported by high strength glass-fibre-reinforced plastic. It
contains the liquefied hydrogen and keeps it at -253 degrees Celsius.
Much
of the ship’s features are a progression of technology originally developed in
1981, when KHI became the first Asian company to manufacture a liquefied natural
gas (LNG) carrier.
Thirty
years later, SUISO FRONTIER will play a pivotal role in realising the potential
for the HESC Project to kick-start a new, global clean
energy export industry with huge local economic benefits for both Australia and
Japan.
Ross Renna (left) and Hirofumi Kawazoe (right) at the HESC Project site in Hastings
Hirofumi Kawazoe is the General Manager for Hydrogen Engineering Australia (HEA) and the local representative for Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). Between visits to the Port of Hastings, he shares his views on living in Australia and the exciting future of hydrogen.
Mr Kawazoe
moved from Japan to Melbourne in 2018, overseeing and managing the Hydrogen
Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project. While most recently working from home under
COVID-19 guidelines, a highlight of his role is making day trips to the Hydrogen
Liquefaction and Loading Terminal being constructed at Hastings.
The plant will be the first hydrogen liquefaction facility in
Australia and with construction almost complete, Mr Kawazoe is focused on having
the site ready for commissioning.
“The days I
visit the site are quite busy, but I really enjoy having discussions with other
project members and seeing the progress,” Mr Kawazoe said.
Broadly
speaking, playing a role in a project supported by the Japanese and Australian
Governments is a huge honour for the computer science and programming expert with
10 years’ experience working in the field.
“I am very
honoured to be involved and working on the front line of HESC. I believe it will
be an important step for the future of energy, and everyone on this project is
working hard for the future of our planet,” Mr Kawazoe said.
“Hydrogen will
be a basic energy source in the future, and this is obvious from the global
boost in interest in hydrogen as fuel that can be produced from various sources.”
Living in
Melbourne for the past two years, Mr Kawazoe enjoys running and playing tennis
in his spare time and he can easily understand why the city is one of the
world’s most liveable.
“People are
very kind and cooperative in Australia. I sometimes feel everyone is too
relaxed. However, I am probably seen as
‘too relaxed’ by my colleagues in Japan recently,” Mr Kawazoe joked.
He
will stay in Australia until the end of the HESC pilot project in 2021 and has
not ruled out the possibility of living in the country long term.
Jay Murphy (left) and Ashley Withell at the HESC Project’s Latrobe Valley site
Jay Murphy, Electrical Apprentice, and Ashley Withell, Trade Assistant, are junior tradespeople employed to work on the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project. They are among some 150 people who have been employed to construct the coal to hydrogen gasification and refining facility in the Latrobe Valley. J-Power, one of Japan’s largest utility companies is using its cutting-edge technology and deep expertise in the power sector to design, build and operate the facility.
Hailing from nearby Traralgon, both are thrilled to be part of the HESC Project. The future of hydrogen in Australia is bright, and Jay and Ashley realise they are gaining innovative skills they can apply to their future careers.
The pair shared
their experiences so far.
Q: What
is a typical day working on this project?
Jay: My day includes a range of jobs
including electrical earthing (laying cables underground), building cableways,
glanding, terminating and installing cables, setting up lighting and completing
pre-commissioning work.
Ashley:
Typically, I have to sanitise brew huts due to COVID-19, maintain
material and equipment stores, operate forklifts and other power equipment.
Q: What excites
you about working on a project of this kind?
Jay: It has been an exciting experience working on a new world-first project in my own backyard. Everything has been new to me and I have acquired a range of new skills in an emerging industry.
Ashley: It
is exciting being part of building something unlike anything else in Australia
and witnessing new ways of working from others around me.
Q: What excites you about the potential of hydrogen?
Jay: The potential of hydrogen excites me because it would bring a whole new industry and hundreds of employment opportunities to the Latrobe Valley.
Ashley: It’s exciting hearing about the potential of hydrogen as a new source of energy and the ways it may benefit the environment.
Once operational, the HESC Project will deliver more job opportunities in the Latrobe Valley. A commercial-scale hydrogen industry in Victoria has the potential to create thousands of new jobs in the Latrobe Valley.
The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project has achieved another significant milestone. The Hastings site of the Hydrogen Liquefaction and Loading Terminal has been built. It is Australia’s first hydrogen liquefaction facility.
59 engineers, tradespeople and apprentices were directly involved in construction, which took 12 months.
The site represents one of the key elements in the HESC Pilot Project. Hydrogen gas is transported by truck from Latrobe Valley to this Hastings site. The hydrogen gas is liquefied and then loaded on to a specially designed marine carrier for shipment to Japan.
HESC Project partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) led
the development and construction works in Hastings. It will also operate the
terminal, utilising significant experience in the storage and
transport of liquefied hydrogen. KHI built the storage tanks used to hold
hydrogen rocket fuel at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Tanegashima
Space Centre. This technology has been in use for more than 25 years.
The commissioning
process will commence, and it is expected operations will start in late
2020.
The HESC Project has achieved another major milestone with the completion of construction of its Kobe-based liquefied hydrogen storage and unloading terminal.
The
terminal is a key component of the HESC pilot end-to-end supply chain. The
world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, SUISO FRONTIER, will transport its
cargo from the Port of Hastings, in Victoria to the Kobe terminal, in Japan, where
liquefied hydrogen will be transferred to a port-side storage tank.
Kawasaki
Heavy Industries (KHI) has led the development and construction works of the
terminal, utilising its extensive experience, technology and knowledge in
cryogenic equipment manufacturing to realise a state of the art facility
incorporating ultra-high thermal insulation storage.
HESC
project partner, Iwatani Corporation, will now take over responsibility for the
operation of the terminal. As the only liquefied hydrogen supplier in Japan,
Iwatani’s expertise in this field will be utilised to achieve the safe and efficient operation and management
of the facility.
The milestone was commemorated with a small, traditional Japanese ceremony attended by project partners, Local Government representatives and local key stakeholders. Strict COVID-19 safety measures were implemented to manage and avoid any risks to attendees.
Completion of construction of the HESC Latrobe Valley plant site has been pushed out from June until August 2020.
COVID-19 has caused significant and unprecedented disruption across many industries and supply chains worldwide. This has resulted in a delay to the delivery of some plant components and associated construction works.
It is not expected that this delay will impact the project’s
overall operation timeline.
As always, we remain fully committed to our ambitious, mutual hydrogen vision, and supporting government and industries in their efforts to responsibly transition to a secure, economically viable, low carbon energy future.
HESC Project achieves another significant milestone with the successful installation of the Liquefied Hydrogen Storage Tank on the SUISO FRONTIER
27 March 2020
Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project partners recognise the ground-breaking achievements by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) for another significant project milestone with the successful installation of the Liquefied Hydrogen (LH2) storage tank for marine transport on the SUISO FRONTIER.
KHI leveraged its extensive experience, technology and knowledge in cryogenic equipment manufacturing to attain state of the art, ultra-high thermal insulation performance for the LH2 storage tank.
The storage tank is a world-leading and game-changing technological development likely to boost the global hydrogen economy. It features a double-shell structure with vacuum insulation between overlapping inner and outer shell layers supported by high strength glass-fibre-reinforced plastic. The high performing LH2 storage tank will enable the safe transport of liquefied hydrogen in large quantities over long distances by sea, facilitating the creation of integrated hydrogen supply chains and hydrogen export around the world.
The SUISO FRONTIER is a key component of the HESC Project which will see the establishment of the world first international hydrogen energy supply chain, whereby liquefied hydrogen produced in Australia will be shipped to Japan. By progressing its ship building ambitions for world-leading and safe liquefied hydrogen carriers, KHI hopes to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and realising a sustainable Hydrogen Society.
Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr Hiroshi Kajiyama and Senator, the Hon. Matthew Canavan, Australia’s Federal Minister for Resources signed a Joint Statement of Co-operation on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells at the Australia-Japan Ministerial Economic Dialogue in Melbourne, on 10 January 2020, reinforcing both countries’ “strong commitment to deploying hydrogen as a clean, secure, affordable and sustainable energy source”.
The statement emphasised hydrogen as a key contributor to emissions reductions, “especially when produced from renewable energy or fossil fuels combined with Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS),” and acknowledged “the steady progress of the [HESC project] towards establishing an international hydrogen supply chain.”
The HESC Project Partners appreciated the reference to the HESC Project as a cornerstone of the bilateral relationship between Australia and Japan. This support highlights the importance of this project for the two countries. Fully realised, it will create a new Australian industry, built around clean hydrogen production, exports and technology.
The two Ministers’ reaffirmation of the importance of cooperation, both bilaterally and internationally, on harmonisation of hydrogen policies, market regulations, codes and standards, aimed at spurring international demand was also reassuring. This will be key to providing businesses with the necessary confidence and incentives to invest and realise the full hydrogen potential. In this regard, the Joint Statement overtly mentions the links between the two Governments’ national hydrogen strategies.
The HESC Project Partners look forward to continuing their collaboration with the Japanese, Victorian and Australian Federal Governments to support the implementation of this Joint Statement and its objectives through the successful implementation of the HESC Project.
Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project partners congratulate fellow partner, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI) in achieving a major project milestone today, launching the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier, SUISO FRONTIER at its Kobe works site in Japan.
The carrier has been developed specifically for the HESC project to transport liquefied hydrogen from the Port of Hastings in Victoria to Japan.
The launch of the SUISO FRONTIER follows other recent and significant HESC milestones including the commencement of construction of the project’s hydrogen liquefaction and loading terminal at the Port of Hastings in July, and the commencement of construction of the brown coal gasification and gas-refining plant in the Latrobe Valley in early November.
It also follows hot on the heels of the release of Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy.
These events demonstrate a significant step forward in Australia and Japan’s pursuit of a hydrogen energy society and supports Australia in responsibly transitioning to a secure, economically viable, low carbon energy future.
The HESC project has the potential to be a game changer in the future, together with carbon capture and storage, providing an innovative, economically viable and environmentally conscious solution to producing hydrogen safely, through the conversion of brown coal to hydrogen.
Australia could be the first country to create a thriving hydrogen export industry with huge local economic benefits.
The Latrobe Valley has the resources, infrastructure and capacity to become the centre for a new energy industry using the area’s abundant coal resources in a sustainable manner and help Australia transition to a low carbon energy regime.
Following today’s launch the carrier will be installed with a vacuum insulated double-walled liquefied hydrogen storage tank with a capacity of 1,250m3.
Construction will be complete in late 2020 to complement the commencement of HESC pilot’s full operation by 2021.
Hydrogen is gaining momentum world-wide as one of the clean energy sources of the future.
The approval of the strategy by COAG Ministers highlights the bipartisan support for hydrogen and acknowledges the domestic and international opportunities it presents to Australia.
Government and industry have clearly stated that Australia could be a world leader in hydrogen given its abundant energy resources and proximity to emerging hydrogen import markets in North Asia.
The strategy represents a key milestone in this journey and we are hopeful that it will provide a conducive policy setting for our world-first end-to-end hydrogen energy supply chain pilot – HESC.
HESC is a significant collaboration between Australia and Japan, and a fundamental component of a new, clean hydrogen export industry.
The strategy’s reference to the HESC Project as a key catalyst to kick-start a commercially viable Australian hydrogen industry in the near term is encouraging.
At a commercial scale, incorporating carbon capture and storage in the production of hydrogen from brown coal would support government and industry’s efforts to responsibly transition to a secure, economically viable, low carbon energy future.
It would be a game changer for business and industry and the broader economy, generating significant jobs and export revenue.
We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Japanese, Victorian and Australian Governments to support the rollout of the Strategy through the successful implementation of the HESC Project.
