Japan to Produce "Clean Hydrogen" from Dirty Coal in Australia's Latrobe Valley
Japan Suiso Energy will turn coal from Victoria's Latrobe Valley into "clean hydrogen" using carbon capture and storage technology.
The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project has entered its commercial demonstration phase after delivering a world-first cargo of liquefied hydrogen to Japan last year.
The project will be funded by the Japanese government's Green Innovation Fund through one of its partners, Japan Suiso Energy, that will own and operate a liquefaction and shipping facility at the Port of Hastings.
The project will be funded by the Japanese government's Green Innovation Fund through one of its partners, Japan Suiso Energy, that will own and operate a liquefaction and shipping facility at the Port of Hastings.
Although neither of the two carbon storage sites identified by the project are close to being operational, they are key to the project's goals of producing cleaner hydrogen.
The project could give new options for jobs in the Gippsland region as the traditional coal industry declines, with the Loy Yang power station set to close in 2035.
The project aims to produce its first hydrogen before the end of the decade, but there are still investment decisions and government approvals to be gained.
The project will bring coal gasification technology from J-Power's Osaki CoolGen facility to Australia, which can capture 90% of CO2 emissions by turning coal into synthetic gas and later extracting the hydrogen.
Capturing and storing the CO2 "has to be part of the project" because without it "we can't reach the carbon intensities that countries want" from clean hydrogen.
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