Iberdrola Australia and hydrogen developer ABEL Energy have announced plans to build a green hydrogen and green methanol production plant at Bell Bay in Northern Tasmania, Australia.
The project, Bell Bay Powerfuels, is backed by the Australian government, and will involve an investment of €1.1 billion ($1.17 billion).
Bell Bay Powerfuels will produce 200,000 tonnes of green methanol per year in its first phase of development, rising to 300,000 tonnes in its second phase.
This will make the project one of the largest in the world.
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The green methanol will be used to supply the maritime market as well as for other applications.
The construction of the future plant, which combines investment in renewable generation with investment in green hydrogen capacity, will rely on the best technology in the world and will create 500 jobs according to the company’s recent statement.
“Iberdrola Australia’s investment in the Bell Bay Powerfuels Project demonstrates our commitment to helping Australian businesses reduce their carbon emissions in sectors where historically, both technically and economically, it has been more difficult to make this transition,” said Ross Rolfe, CEO and Managing Director of Iberdrola Australia.
“We are delighted to be able to combine Iberdrola’s global expertise in green hydrogen technologies with ABEL Energy’s local knowledge and commercial drive.”
Iberdrola is developing 60 renewable and green hydrogen initiatives in eight different countries. Its goal is to reach 35,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year by 2025 and more than 350,000 tonnes per year by 2030.
To this end, the company has a project portfolio of 2,400 Megawatts in different regions – mainly in Spain, the US and Australia.
