Green hydrogen developer Climate Impact Corporation (CIC) has announced plans to develop two 10GW green hydrogen projects in central Australia utilising its proprietary renewable hydrogen production modular technology.
The announcement is backed by CIC’s development, in partnership with GE Vernova, of self-contained modules that produce zero-carbon hydrogen.
Compared to traditional renewable hydrogen production, which typically sources vast quantities of water from piped water sources and grid electricity, CIC’s modular hydrogen production units are designed to operate entirely off-grid, reducing demand on governments and communities to fund supporting infrastructure.
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Each module contains solar panels, atmospheric water generators, electrolysers and supporting infrastructure to produce hydrogen as an individual standalone unit. Crucially, the use of atmospheric water allows hydrogen to be produced anywhere where solar radiation is abundant, opening up new locations in central Australia as potential renewable fuel hubs.
CIC chair and co-founder David Green said the approach would unlock inland hydrogen production opportunities in solar-rich locations such as the Northern Territory and South Australia.
“Renewable hydrogen production requires a significant amount of energy and water, which aren’t often found together in places like Australia,” he said.
“Rather than repeating the same approach, we’re looking to solve this challenge by creating modules that use Australia’s abundant solar resources, combined with proven atmospheric water generation technology.
“It’s an approach that solves one of the biggest challenges Australia has faced in becoming a renewable hydrogen superpower, and we’re excited to be bringing it to market first in Australia.”
CIC recently announced its partnership with GE Vernova, which will see the two companies work together to maximise the efficiency of the hydrogen production modules. The company has now secured offtake buyers for enough Australian-produced renewable hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives to support the development of large-scale renewable hydrogen projects in Australia.
CIC’s 10GW projects would be by far the largest renewable hydrogen projects developed in Australia to date.
With the first test modules expected to be producing hydrogen in the Northern Territory or South Australia as soon as later this year, Green also called on Australian governments to embrace the opportunity ahead of them.
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“We need Australian governments to lean in if we want Australia to lead in this technology instead of being of it being used in other countries first,” he said.
“We’re speaking to leaders in Adelaide and Darwin about renewable hydrogen projects in their states and territories, as well as component manufacturing, that will provide ongoing jobs for hundreds of people while producing zero-carbon fuels.
“Government support on permitting, streamlining approvals process, and ensuring suitable sites are available would accelerate this investment significantly.”
