The Port of Rotterdam and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE are working with Australian partners to investigate opportunities for Western Australia to become a world-class producer, user and exporter of renewable hydrogen.
Western Australia could provide for a substantial portion of the European demand for hydrogen in 2050.
The TrHyHub Study, a collaboration between key stakeholders in Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands, analysed the critical components that could deliver a supply chain from the Mid West Hydrogen Hub in Oakajee to Germany via the Port of Rotterdam.
In the short term, ammonia is the most suitable option, with substantial cost savings to be anticipated in the future.
With its s strategic positioning and renewable energy capabilities, the Mid West Hydrogen Hub, which is centred around the Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area (SIA) and proposed Port, stands as a key hub for renewable industry growth in Western Australia.
Oakajee has also been identified as a potential location for a major deepwater port.
The TrHyHub Study analysed the technical design, location, and feasibility of ammonia export infrastructure situated in the Oakajee port.
A geographic information system analysis by Fraunhofer ISE revealed that the land within a 350-kilometre radius of the Oakajee SIA has significant potential for large-scale renewable electricity generation.
The area theoretically allows for a maximum power output of 10,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) from solar technology, and 5,700 TWh from onshore wind energy.
If fully developed, this translates to a theoretical hydrogen production of 185 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) from solar and 105 Mtpa from wind power.
Hydrogen production of this scale would provide for a substantial portion of the European demand for hydrogen in 2050. The planned renewable ammonia production capacity could reach over 15 Mtpa, equivalent to the current European ammonia production.
In their work package, researchers from Fraunhofer ISE investigated the supply chain and the associated specific technological solutions that should enable the export of green hydrogen.
They modelled the production of renewable hydrogen and derivatives and the transport of the derivatives, including means of transport, transportation costs and time.
Study author Marius Holst from Fraunhofer ISE, said a techno-economic analysis of an ammonia supply chain to Germany confirmed that the cost component related to the long distance does not constitute a significant cost factor, accounting for only nine per cent of the total cost of production and delivery.
“The higher shipping cost is offset by the significant solar and wind resources which lead to significantly lower costs of production and storage,” Holst said.
Following the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan launched in 2022, the European Union set a target of importing up to 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen by 2030 to replace fossil fuels in all sectors across Europe.
With a national consumption of hydrogen of approximately 1.6 mtpa across various production industries, 90 per cent of which is currently fossil-sourced, Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy announced its aim to shift these sectors, along with steel production and parts of the transportation sector, to renewable hydrogen.
With limited production capacities for renewable hydrogen, Germany will need to import most of the required quantities. The TrHyHub study found that renewable ammonia as the most prevalent hydrogen carrier in the short term could be imported through the Port of Rotterdam. Rotterdam is well-suited because of its extensive logistics connections to the most promising offtake regions in Germany, notably North Rhine-Westfalia and Ludwigshafen.
In September 2024, Australia and Germany signed a deal to advance their cooperation in new green hydrogen supply chains through a funding window to guarantee European buyers for Australia’s renewable hydrogen producers.