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Released May 17, 2023 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Australia's Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) (East Perth, Australia) has announced the completion of its first in-house hydrogen electrolyser and said it will start rolling off the production line later this year from its 2-gigawatt (GW) Gladstone Electrolyser Manufacturing (GEM) facility in Queensland.
The announcement by the green energy company, which is part of mining giant Fortescue Metals Group Limited and owned by billionaire Andrew Forrest, comes just months after the collapse of its partnership with leading electrolysis technology firm Plug Power (NYSE:PLUG) (Latham, New York).
FFI Chief Executive Mark Hutchinson told analysts that the build of its proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser is complete and that the company is on track to deliver the first models off its GEM production line later this year. "This is no small feat as we are the first in Australia to do anything like this," he said of the prototype milestone. He added that the construction at the US$83 million GEM facility has been completed on time and under budget. FFI and Plug Power were in a 50:50 partnership on the GEM project, which aims to produce enough electrolysers for 2 GW of capacity that can produce 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen each year. Fortescue is aiming to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030.
In January, Plug Power's chief executive, Andrew Marsh, announced that the company was pulling out of the deal at Gladstone: "One, we decided that we didn't want to build a factory with them because we saw the economics, we could do better," Marsh said in a conference call with analysts. "So, we really didn't think that was worthwhile to move ahead, though, we're still working with them on electrolysers."
FFI's Hutchinson was bullish after the collapse and said FFI would continue: "The feeling really was that we were advanced on our own technology and the IP [intellectual property] was ours and we can do it at scale. We want to control our own destiny. Our demand is going to be huge, we think there is enormous value in owning the technology and it is going to develop very, very quickly. I believe we can get the best economics out of our electrolyser facility, Andy [Marsh] has a different view, that is fine, so bring it on."
FFI is involved in a number of planned hydrogen/ammonia projects around the world and is expected to deliver its electrolysers to projects in Norway, Brazil, the U.S. and Kenya. Most of them are at an early stage of development. One of the first will probably be the US$200 million Gibson Island fertilizer plant in Queensland, which is owned by Incitec Pivot Limited and which the company had planned on closing last year due to the high cost of methane gas feedstock. It is now working with FFI to repurpose the plant using green hydrogen to produce ammonia and a final investment decision (FID) is due this year. Using a 500-megawatt (MW) water electrolyser--powered by solar and wind power--it will produce 70,000 tonnes per year (T/yr) of green hydrogen that the plant will use to make 400,000 T/yr of green ammonia. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing project and plant databases can click here for the project report and click here for the plant profile.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The announcement by the green energy company, which is part of mining giant Fortescue Metals Group Limited and owned by billionaire Andrew Forrest, comes just months after the collapse of its partnership with leading electrolysis technology firm Plug Power (NYSE:PLUG) (Latham, New York).
FFI Chief Executive Mark Hutchinson told analysts that the build of its proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser is complete and that the company is on track to deliver the first models off its GEM production line later this year. "This is no small feat as we are the first in Australia to do anything like this," he said of the prototype milestone. He added that the construction at the US$83 million GEM facility has been completed on time and under budget. FFI and Plug Power were in a 50:50 partnership on the GEM project, which aims to produce enough electrolysers for 2 GW of capacity that can produce 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen each year. Fortescue is aiming to produce 15 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030.
In January, Plug Power's chief executive, Andrew Marsh, announced that the company was pulling out of the deal at Gladstone: "One, we decided that we didn't want to build a factory with them because we saw the economics, we could do better," Marsh said in a conference call with analysts. "So, we really didn't think that was worthwhile to move ahead, though, we're still working with them on electrolysers."
FFI's Hutchinson was bullish after the collapse and said FFI would continue: "The feeling really was that we were advanced on our own technology and the IP [intellectual property] was ours and we can do it at scale. We want to control our own destiny. Our demand is going to be huge, we think there is enormous value in owning the technology and it is going to develop very, very quickly. I believe we can get the best economics out of our electrolyser facility, Andy [Marsh] has a different view, that is fine, so bring it on."
FFI is involved in a number of planned hydrogen/ammonia projects around the world and is expected to deliver its electrolysers to projects in Norway, Brazil, the U.S. and Kenya. Most of them are at an early stage of development. One of the first will probably be the US$200 million Gibson Island fertilizer plant in Queensland, which is owned by Incitec Pivot Limited and which the company had planned on closing last year due to the high cost of methane gas feedstock. It is now working with FFI to repurpose the plant using green hydrogen to produce ammonia and a final investment decision (FID) is due this year. Using a 500-megawatt (MW) water electrolyser--powered by solar and wind power--it will produce 70,000 tonnes per year (T/yr) of green hydrogen that the plant will use to make 400,000 T/yr of green ammonia. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing project and plant databases can click here for the project report and click here for the plant profile.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
