ABEL Energy to rebuild power station for green fuels production

Australian hydrogen firm ABEL Energy plans to rebuild a decommissioned power plant in Australia's Bell Bay to produce green hydrogen and green methanol.

PHOTO: A 3D view of Abel Energy’s Bell Bay project. Abel Energy

The Tasmanian government gave the green light to the sale of the decommissioned Bell Bay power station to ABEL Energy yesterday.

Last December, Abel Energy, supported by Spanish renewable energy firm Iberdrola, revealed their plans to produce a green hydrogen and methanol production facility in Bell Bay, Tasmania in Australia. The project – Bell Bay Powerfuels Project – and will target fuel demand in shipping.

State-run electricity company Hydro Tasmania has now agreed to sell the decommissioned power station site to Abel Energy to take the plan forward.

Once construction is complete, the planned facility intends to produce 300,000 mt/year of green methanol. It will house a 240 megawatts (MW) electrolyser powered by renewable energy to generate green hydrogen – a key component for the production of green methanol.

The project will “deliver decarbonisation solutions for commercial and industrial customers in historically hard-to-abate sectors,” Iberdrola Australia’s chief executive Ross Rolfe, AO.

The project is anticipated to commence commercial operations in 2027.

Clean fuel production projects have been on the rise in Australia lately. Apart from the Bell Bay Powerfuels Project, infrastructure company Keppel and Australian fertiliser producer Incitec Pivot have planned to set up an 850,000 mt/year of green ammonia production plant at the Port of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia.

In fact, a recent study by Maersk McKinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping (MMMCZCS) revealed that Australia has the greatest potential to produce clean e-fuels for the marine industry.

By Tuhin Roy

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