New Zealand’s Large Scale Green Hydrogen Project Onboards Partners

NTPC Green Energy Ltd Joins Hands with Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port for Green Hydrogen Hub

Meridian Energy, a New Zealand-based power company that looks to generate electricity through 100 per cent renewable energy sources, has partnered with Australia’s Woodside Energy which explores, develops, and produces hydrocarbon and hydrocarbon products. The partnership will look at the development of a large-scale hydrogen and ammonia facility. The premises will come up at Southland in New Zealand. Woodside was chosen following a competitive process in which it emerged the winner.

Reportedly, Japan’s Mitsui may also partner up for the project known as the Southern Green Hydrogen (SGH) Project. The project aims at the production of 500,000 tonnes of ammonia annually with the help of electrolysis from renewable power. Mitsui will prove to be a big source of support to the project given that it boasts of 50 years of experience in the ammonia business. That apart, the firm also has the highest share of imports into the island-country, which will also pave the way for the establishment of he potential market for ammonia offtake.

“We’re very pleased to be partnering with Woodside which, like us, is focused on progressing a world-class hydrogen and ammonia facility in Southland, New Zealand, that will provide significant benefits to the local community. In addition to its operational and marketing expertise, Woodside has demonstrated climate change ambitions, and as we are a 100% renewable energy company and committed to sustainability, that was a key focus for us in selecting a partner,” Meridian Chief Executive Neal Barclay said in a statement today. He further said, “We believe a large-scale hydrogen and ammonia facility in Southland, focused on the export market, will accelerate the development of a domestic hydrogen economy and strengthen New Zealand’s platform to contributing to decarbonising our transport and industrial sectors,” Barclay added.

With the design of the commercial structure of the project in the offing, technical operations on the facility continue in simultaneity. The project will explore the possibility of supplying hydrogen and ammonia to the domestic market while also looking at the export of ammonia to Asia and Europe.

Notably, LNG developer Woodside has also joined hands with customers in its traditional LNG export markets with focus on Japan and South Korea in particular.