Japanese oil firm ENEOS is planning to build an AUD $200m ($129.9m) small-scale project in Australia that will produce green hydrogen for export to Japan.
The 1.5MW demonstration plant on Bulwer Island in Queensland will produce up to 680kg of green hydrogen per day from 2026.
Commissioned by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), the plant will run for two years, with hydrogen set to be bound to a liquid carrier to allow it to be transported at room temperature and low pressures.
Having secured funding from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Green Innovation (GI) Fund, the MCH plant will be built on the site of a former bp refinery close to the Port of Brisbane. A “portion” is due to be shipped to Japan.
Construction of the green hydrogen facility will begin next year, with MCH production expected by the middle of 2026.
Australian Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training, Ros Bates, who is leading a trade mission to Japan and South Korea, said, “ENEOS’s increase in local green hydrogen production will create over 100 new specialist jobs for Queensland in a key growth industry.”
ENEOS will work with other Japanese companies including Chiyoda Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Industries, TOPPAN and AGC, as well as Brisbane-based firms GPA and GPRS.
ENEOS plans to use methylcyclohexane (MCH), a liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC). Hydrogen can be chemically bonded to MCH through a toluene hydrogenation process.
Classified as a saturated hydrocarbon, MCH can be stored and transported in existing petrochemical infrastructure, potentially reducing the cost of moving hydrogen.
Earlier this year, ENEOS said it would develop the “world’s first” commercial-scale LOHC project using Honeywell’s technology.
Read more: Honeywell and ENEOS to deliver commercial scale LOHC project
Although the idea of chemically binding hydrogen to a carrier liquid was first tested in the 1970s, the technology is only now edging closer to reality, with the potential of the process being rapidly explored by key players with hopes of commercialisation in the near future.
Can LOHCs deliver hydrogen’s global potential?
© Honeywell
Hydrogen is often slated as a solution that could deliver zero-emission benefits without the substantial changes to operations and widespread infrastructure of electrified alternatives. But just as the energy carrier’s properties make it suitable for some applications, they make it notoriously difficult to store and handle.
The majority of the existing (grey) hydrogen is consumed near to where it is used. However, this looks to change as regions look to harness its zero-emissions benefits when produced from renewable sources. The Hydrogen Council’s Global Hydrogen Flows report said that 400 million tonnes – of the 660 million needed for Net Zero in 2050 – could be transported over long distances1.
But with a low volumetric density, unless compressed or liquefied, hydrogen uses a huge amount of space and can leak easily.
Compressed gaseous hydrogen and liquid hydrogen are the most commercialised technologies but come with difficulties. Compressed hydrogen has a lower storage density than other solutions, making it unsuitable for long-range transportation. While the cost of cryogenically cooling and storing hydrogen as a liquid at -253˚C, raises concerns over storage and efficiency.
For those reasons, moving hydrogen over long distances in its pure form looks to prove a tall order, which has seen a rising interest in hydrogen carriers that could facilitate an easier-to-handle way of transporting the molecule…
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