ENERGY TRANSITION

Strike signs Haber hydrogen agreements with ATCO, IBE

STRIKE Energy has signed agreements with ATCO and Infinite Blue Energy to work together to create a green hydrogen supply chain for Strike’s proposed Project Haber urea development in Western Australia.

Look to work together on Mid-West infrastructure

Look to work together on Mid-West infrastructure

Strike has been looking at various methods of integrating hydrogen into the fertiliser project it announced at the beginning of the year, as it looks to use the plant as a foundational plank in its decarbonisation strategy. 

The company has said it will initially use Greater Erregulla gas to power the 1.4 million tonne per annum facility, however the project will also have a dedicated on-site 10MW electrolyser which would produce around 1825 tonnes of green hydrogen per annum. 

It is also looking at the possibility of powering the electrolyser and plant operations by geothermal power after acquiring Mid-West Geothermal Co earlier this year. 

Strike said the hydrogen supply plus the lower carbon gas from Greater Erregulla would produce what is projected to be some of the lowest carbon urea fertiliser available in the market. 

It said it would make a point to gradually increase the green hydrogen feedstock of the plant from  other green hydrogen developments.

In that vein, the company has signed separate, non-binding memorandums of understanding with ATCO and Infinite Blue Energy to work together to develop green hydrogen infrastructure in the state's Mid-West, such as power transmission, desalinated water and pipeline corridors, as well as green hydrogen offtake agreements. 

IBE is currently developing its flagship A$427 million Arrowsmith green hydrogen development, which would use wind and solar to power an electrolyser designed to produce up to 25 tonnes of hydrogen per day in the project's first stage and ramping up to export scale quantities down the track. Last month the company announced former Woodside CEO Peter Coleman would join the company as chair. 

ATCO meanwhile alongside AGIG is progressing its Clean Energy Innovation Park, which includes a 10MW electrolyser powered from the nearby 180MW Warradarge Wind Farm, with the hydrogen generated to be trucked to end users and injected into the Dampier to Bunbury Pipeline. The project recently received A$28.7 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. 

Strike said the agreements would help create alignment between the companies as they look to lobby the state government, which is supportive of a green hydrogen industry in the Mid-West. 

It noted the infrastructure could boost the scale and speed of other hydrogen projects in the state. 

"Progression of these MOUs with two of the key green hydrogen developers in the Mid-West is a great step in accelerating the WA hydrogen economy," Strike CEO and managing director Stuart Nicholls said.

"Incorporating green hydrogen into Project Haber's urea production process will enable Strike to produce some of the lowest carbon urea possible and potentially create one of Australia's largest carbon sinks, moving Strike into carbon negative territory." 

Referring to previous engineering modelling conducted by Technip Energies earlier this year, Strike said Project Haber could displace around 139,000 tonnes of methane related to traditional hydrogen production, with green hydrogen sourced from the region. 

It noted once Project Haber exceeds 40% of green hydrogen in its feedstock mix, the plant would be required to start importing CO2 to continue to manufacture urea fertiliser - creating the opportunity for heavy industry and hard to abate sectors to offload around 500,000 tpa of CO2 per year, therefore acting as a carbon sink.

The company expects the 10MW electrolyser to begin operations by 2025, however it still needs to prove up South Erregulla reserves before making final investment decision. 

It expects green hydrogen would reach sufficient quantities to justify the need to begin importing CO2 for the project around 2036, and reach 500,000tpa of imported CO2 by 2044. 

Strike shares are up 1.7% at 29.5c. 

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the energy sector, brought to you by the Energy News Bulletin Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the energy sector, brought to you by the Energy News Bulletin Intelligence team.

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