FFI to build 2-GW electrolyser factory in Queensland as part of larger project

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) will build an electrolyser factory with an initial annual capacity of 2 GW as part of an ambitious green manufacturing project at Gladstone in the Australian state of Queensland.

The green energy business of Australian iron ore company Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) announced plans on Sunday for its Global Green Energy Manufacturing Centre (GEM), expected to span the production of wind turbines, long-range electric cabling, solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, electrolysers and related infrastructure.

The electrolyser facility is the first stage of the six-stage project, which could represent an overall investment of more than AUD 1 billion (USD 735m/EUR 635m).

FFI will make an initial investment of up to AUD 114 million in the electrolyser factory, construction on which is expected to start in February 2022, subject to final approvals. Production is targeted to kick off in early 2023.

FFI, which has a target of delivering 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030, said its own needs will underwrite GEM’s initial growth.

"As GEM develops according to FFI’s own requirements and other customer needs, manufacturing will come roaring back to regional Australia, creating many thousands of jobs," said FFI chairman and founder Andrew Forrest.

FFI is partnering with the Queensland government on the initiative.

"We have a strategy to partner with the private sector to make Queensland a world leader in advanced manufacturing and hydrogen generation," premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a statement.

FFI’s facility will be constructed on land developed by the Queensland government at Aldoga within the Gladstone State Development Area.

Separately, on Monday FFI said it will work with Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX:IPL), Australia’s largest supplier of fertilisers, to conduct a feasibility study to make Incitec Pivot’s ammonia plant at Gibson Island in Brisbane, which now uses natural gas as a feedstock, run on green hydrogen.

FFI also intends to build an on-site electrolysis plant capable of producing up to 50,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year for conversion into green ammonia.

Preliminary results from the feasibility study are expected by the end of 2021.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.735/EUR 0.635)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!