Hydrogen Production: Natural Gas ReformingToday, 95% of the hydrogen produced in the United States is made by natural gas reforming in large central plants. This is an important technology pathway for near-term hydrogen production.
Most hydrogen produced today in the United States is made via steam-methane reforming, a mature production process in which high-temperature steam (700°C–1,000°C) is used to produce hydrogen from a methane source, such as natural gas.
Energy giant Woodside is considering building a $1 billion hydrogen plant in Western Australia,converting predominantly gas into the much-touted new fuel which is expected to be in high demand by companies aiming to reduce carbon emissions.
Construction will start in 2024 if Woodside goes ahead with the investment which has the support of the WA government. The company would lease up to 130 hectares of scarce industrial land in Kwinana and Rockingham, south of Perth.
Woodside’s proposed H2Perth hydrogen plant in Kwinana, south of Perth.The planned $1 billion first stage of the plant would produce 300 tonnes of hydrogen a day. The fuel is expected to be in high demand to reduce emissions from activities that are hard to electrify such as long-distance trucking and industrial processes.
Gas will be split into hydrogen and carbon dioxide to make 200 tonnes a day of hydrogen, with the remaining output being so-called green hydrogen separated from water using electricity.
The green hydrogen will be produced by 250 megawatts of electrolysers powered from the power grid in the south west of WA. This year Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue plans to sanction a similar-sized plant in Bell Bay powered by Tasmania hydroelectricity.
Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill said the company’s H2Perth project would be zero emissions for both Woodside and its customers.
A company spokeswoman said to achieve zero emissions Woodside would use a combination of abatements, offsets and renewable energy certificates for all direct Scope 1 and indirect Scope 2 emissions. These efforts will have to cover both emissions from the gas plant and the energy bought to power the 250 megawatts of electrolysers.
Hydrogen from gas with the associated emissions offset is marketed by its proponents as the clean fuel blue hydrogen. Mr Forrest hassavaged governments supporting blue hydrogenas “dithering – unsure whether to back green hydrogen or blindly commit to yet more fossil fuels, this time disguised as blue hydrogen”.
Conservation Council of WA policy director Piers Verstegen said the Council welcomed resource companies moving into renewable energy in a genuine way but the PerthH2 announcement appeared to be a greenwashing exercise.
“This development has made for a good headline but the devil is in the detail, and on closer inspection it appears to be yet another way for Woodside to greenwash its highly polluting fossil gas expansion plans,” Mr Verstegen said.
Ms O’Neill said as the proportion of renewable energy on the South West grid increased, the facility could be expanded. “Our vision for this opportunity is a hydrogen production facility that at its maximum scale would produce 1500 tonnes per day of hydrogen, intended for export either as ammonia or as liquid hydrogen,” she said.
If the planned full capacity is achieved it would be one of the largest of its kind in the world.
The announcement of H2Perth, which is expected to create more than 2000 construction jobs and about 200 positions during operations, comes less than two months before Woodside plans to sanction its controversial $US12 billion Scarborough LNG project.
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