Hydrogen
Renewable hydrogen, often hailed as the "fuel of the future," offers immense potential for decarbonising various sectors, including transportation, steel manufacturing, ammonia production, rocket fuel, semiconductor manufacturing, welding, and methanol production.
Unlike conventional hydrogen production methods that rely on fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases, renewable hydrogen is produced through electrolysis powered by renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Western Australia, blessed with abundant solar and wind resources, is uniquely positioned to capitalise on renewable hydrogen production. The state's vast landmass and favourable climate provide opportunities for large-scale production.
As a leading energy company, ATCO is already producing renewable hydrogen at our Jandakot facility, where hydrogen powers zero-emission passenger vehicles, a hydrogen fuel cell, and a demonstration hydrogen-powered home.
Hydrogen can also be blended into the existing natural gas networks in quantities of up to 10% without the need to change gas appliances. This represents an opportunity to reduce emissions, as demonstrated in our Hydrogen Blending Project. This project, one of the largest of its kind in Australia, involves around 2,700 connections and will see renewable hydrogen blended into the existing network within the Glen Iris, Treeby, and Calleya Estates within the City of Cockburn. The two-year project involves blending between 2% and 10% of renewable hydrogen into parts of the network when there is sufficient flow rate.
While it's currently not yet commercially viable to blend hydrogen into the network for all customers, we are committed to continuing to invest in renewable gas projects to bring future benefits to all those connected to the network.