The WA government has set aside land for seven future hydrogen-related projects valued at a cool $70 billion combined. The land is situated throughout two heavy industrial estates on the Pilbara coast in Port Hedland and Onslow.

The heavy industrial hitters involved in the projects include:

  • British Petroleum – BP (UK)
  • South Korean steelmaker POSCO 
  • Fortescue Mining Group 
  • Alinta Energy
  • And Tees Valley Lithium (UK)

4000 hectares have been allocated to the initiative at Boodarie, just south of Port Hedland, where most of Australia’s iron ore exports are loaded onto ships.

This is in addition to 8000 hectares issued in Onslow to Fortescue at the Ashburton North strategic industrial area.

Boodarie already houses a gas-fired power station and is under consideration from Alinta Energy for a future green hydrogen production facility.

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Clean power for the Pilbara

British giant BP, the world’s fourth-largest oil company, plans to progressively develop 26 gigawatts of wind and solar power at its remote 6500-hectare site.

Situated 250km from Port Hedland, BP secured the land to support its $53 billion Australian Renewable Energy Hub.

A facility the company has operated since June 2022.

BP has said it plans to use the power generated at the location to produce green hydrogen (or hydrogen made using only carbon-free energy sources).

Supposing BP can transmit the green power onshore to Port Hedland, it could connect to the transmission grid.

This would supply the region’s extensive iron ore businesses with clean energy, a key target for local operators Rio Tinto, BP and Fortescue.

Interestingly, South Korea’s POSCO, who works closely with Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, hopes to use the available hydrogen to manufacture high-quality iron pellets, known as “hot briquetted iron”, which remove coal, a high pollutant, from the steel-making process.

Once operational,  the region will be a self-sufficient and supportive hub for clean energy generation while improving processes and products to assist the world in its decarbonisation push.

WA’s New Lithium Deal

UK firm Tees Valley Lithium, which intends to spend $444 million to build Europe’s biggest lithium hydroxide plant in northern England, was also allocated land at Port Hedland.

Tees Valley Lithium has secured WA Government support for a lithium sulphate refinery.

Under a recent free trade agreement between the UK and Australia, Tees Valley hopes to see the new Pilbara to Teesside connection “embody the new critical minerals supply chains possible.

Adding:

“The Port Hedland LSM refinery will bring major value-adding to the Pilbara region, with significant multiplier benefits for the local community and the State of Western Australia.”

Tees hopes to reduce the carbon footprint of the lithium battery cell supply chain to better align with new European emissions standards.

“Leveraging the competitive strengths of Australia in mining and critical minerals processing and the UK in chemical refining,” the company said. 

Summary

If there was doubt that Western Australia is becoming a clean energy powerhouse, recent land allocations to global mining and energy giants have put the argument to bed.

The WA government has released packages of industrial-zoned land to help develop the Pilbara coast region into a green energy and sustainability hub.

The land, located around Boodarie (Port Hedland) and Onslow, is forecast to house a diverse array of self-supporting projects, including green hydrogen production, clean power generation and products to help decarbonise the global steel-making industry.

In addition, UK company Tees Lithium has been granted government support for a Lithium Sulphate refinery in Port Hedland, the largest bulk export port in the world.  

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References:

https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/wa-allocates-70-billion-in-green-hydrogen-push/. 

https://stockhead.com.au/resources/eye-on-lithium-uks-tees-valley-heads-to-lithium-heartland-of-wa-to-set-up-large-chemical-refinery/.