Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) has reached financial close for Hydrogen Park Murray Valley in Victoria, Australia.
Located in Wodonga in north-eastern Victoria, the hydrogen park will feature a 10MW electrolyser eight-times bigger than the largest currently operating in the country.
The facility will be powered by green electricity generated by a wind farm in the state. It will initially be used to blend green hydrogen into gas networks to supply 40,000 homes and 20 industrial sites with cleaner energy.
The project will create 55 jobs during its construction phase and will remove 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
It is jointly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Victorian Government.
AGIG CEO Craig de Laine stated: “The strong support received from both the Australian and Victorian governments demonstrates the importance of renewable hydrogen to decarbonising energy across Australia.
“We thank all our project partners and key stakeholders, including the Albury-Wodonga community, for their contribution to the project to date.”
ARENA has pledged $36.1m (A$54.09m) to the project on behalf of the Australian Government.
Hydrogen Park Murray Valley is the second undertaking supported by ARENA to reach financial close. In 2022, it supported Engie’s Project Yuri in Pilbara.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller stated: “It is essential to scaling up Australia’s renewable hydrogen industry that we get these first-generation projects up and running.
“Producing renewable hydrogen on this scale has never been done in Australia. The lessons we learn here will help inform our hydrogen industry as it grows from its early stages to a pillar of the net-zero economy.
“ARENA has been at the forefront of advancing renewable hydrogen projects and will continue to play an integral role, as we support the Australian Government’s Hydrogen Headstart programme and other large-scale projects.”
Construction will commence later in 2023 and the site will be operational by 2025.
