Mining giant Fortescue (ASX:FMG) is moving closer to the production of green hydrogen with the opening of its over 2 gigawatt (GW) electrolyser manufacturing facility in Gladstone, Queensland.
The electrolyser facility is the first stage of a wider Green Energy Manufacturing Centre being developed by Fortescue on the 100 hectare Gladstone site.
The next phases of the program will include a hydrogen system testing facility and Fortescue’s PEM50 Green Hydrogen Project.
Fortescue, which has a $76.29 billion market capitalisation, says the 15,000km2 facility, which was constructed and fully commissioned in just over two years, is one of the first in the world to house an automated assembly line.
The facility will have capacity to produce over 2GW of proton exchange membrane electrolyser stacks per year. Electrolysers split hydrogen and oxygen by passing an electrical current through water, which is made up of both molecules.
“We are grateful for the Queensland and federal government’s vision and early support to help get us started,” Executive Chair and Founder Andrew Forrest says.
“Together we have laid the cornerstone for what will be a massive new manufacturing industry in Australia creating the potential for thousands of new green energy jobs.”
As part of the development of the facility, the Queensland government provided an electrical substation, road network, communications, and local scheme water connection, as well as the allocation of land. The Australian government, meanwhile, contributed $44 million from the Collaboration Stream of the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.
Fortescue Energy CEO Mark Hutchinson says the facility now establishes the company as an original equipment manufacturer.
“The process of splitting hydrogen and oxygen isn’t new – but the innovative ways the world is looking to use green hydrogen to decarbonise are, and that means demand for green hydrogen and for the electrolysers to produce it is growing rapidly.
“This facility positions Fortescue and Gladstone as a large-scale producer of what will be an increasingly sought-after commodity in the global shift to green energy.”
More than 100 jobs were created during the construction process, with the facility and wider centre to underpin over 300 direct and indirect jobs.
Fortescue is an integrated green technology, energy, and metals company established in Western Australia with a focus on developing and acquiring technologies the world needs to step beyond fossil fuels.
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Fortescue
