PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Energy major bp will take an investment decision on the H2Kwinana project, in Western Australia, in 2024, and is aiming to start production by 2026.

The company last week completed its concept development study, which identified two potential base case scenarios, with the hub producing either 44 t/d of green hydrogen or 143 t/d. The potential growth target of 429 t/d was selected as the third and final case.

Capital costs for the project would range from A$399-million for the base case project, to A$1.49-billion for the enlarged 143 t/d operation and A$1.42-billion for the growth case, while operating costs could range between A$82-million a year and A$693-million a year.

The potential H2Kwinana hub will be able to provide a renewable hydrogen supply for domestic and export markets and support the creation of new green industries, the Western Australian government said in a statement on Friday.

“Renewable hydrogen produced in the first stage of the H2Kwinana project is intended for domestic supply, but as we scale up electrolysis capacity by the end of the decade, we will be looking at export markets,” said bp business development director for hydrogen in Western Australia Justin Nash.

“Government support is crucial to the success of a new industry like hydrogen, and we’re very encouraged by what we’re seeing in Western Australia, and all the right signals are coming from the federal government with their level of support to get us down the pathway to scale, which will ultimately drive costs down.

“We see that we can do that here with the support, if we are successful, of programs like the federal government’s Hydrogen Headstart.

“Infrastructure supported by the Western Australian government is also critical, be it transmission, water, pipelines, to enable this industry to get to scale,” said Nash.

“We look forward to supporting Australia on its emissions reductions journey through the role we can play with renewable hydrogen and renewable fuels.”