Photo Source: IRENA.org
Australian Gas Networks (AGN) announced the construction start of a pilot facility in South Australia that will produce green hydrogen and blend some of it into the local gas distribution network.
Adelaide-based AGN - part of Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) – expects the $11.4 million Hydrogen Park SA facility to start renewable hydrogen production around mid-2020.
Chief Executive Officer, Mr Ben Wilson said "At the Hydrogen Park we will be building a 1.25MW electrolyser as the first Australian demonstration project of its scale and size, with small quantities of renewable hydrogen produced and blended into the local gas distribution network next year".
He added that "This will enable residents in parts of the Adelaide suburb of Mitchell Park, to become SA’s first natural gas customers to receive a blended 5% renewable gas – a combination of natural gas and renewable hydrogen".
The company confirms that AGN received a A$4.9 million grant from the South Australian Government’s Renewable Technology Fund to build and operate the project. Using a 1.25 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser, renewable electricity will be used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen gas.
The renewable hydrogen will be blended with natural gas and supplied to 710 customers in southern areas of Mitchell Park via the existing natural gas network.
Wilson said that, "The decarbonisation challenge is huge and many solutions are needed for Australia to meet its emission reduction targets, and that includes gas stepping up to play its part". He added, "Developing the hydrogen economy will also play a key role and the momentum around hydrogen is building with burgeoning research and development underway.
"Commercial hydrogen production is achievable and can decarbonise Australia's energy mix while at the same time accessing export markets." he said.
"When burnt, hydrogen does not release any carbon emissions, only water and heat so it is essentially just another gas we can use in place of, or blended with, natural gas to provide energy and heat. Customers receiving the blended 5% renewable gas will not notice any difference in their gas supply," he said.