Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Sumitomo Corporation is taking practical steps to realize green hydrogen production in Gladstone, Australia, by the end of 2023.
“Green hydrogen” denotes hydrogen fuel that is itself produced through a zero carbon emissions process, unlike the current production processes which contribute to global warming.
Sumitomo’s latest move sees it signing a front end engineering and design (FEED) contract with JGC Holdings.
The city of Gladstone in the State of Queensland has an existing industrial infrastructure and rich solar radiation with long daylight hours, making it ideal for capturing the solar power that would go into the green hydrogen production process.
The initial green hydrogen production plant eyed for a 2023 opening is expected produce 250-300 tons of hydrogen annually, with plans to scale up production thereafter.
Sumitomo is also collaborating with other companies to explore possible fuel ammonia production projects.
Last month, the competing Global LH2 Consortium was announced, consisting of the Iwatani Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Fortescue Metals Group, an Australian mining firm. These firms signed a joint agreement to explore the possibility of producing green hydrogen in Australia to be exported to the Japanese market.
