Australia’s first manufacturing facility able to build hydrogen electrolysers at a commercial scale has been opened in Central Queensland.
Fortescue’s Gladstone Electrolyser Facility is one of the largest in the world and is the first stage of a wider Green Energy Manufacturing Centre being developed by Fortescue on a 100ha site, located on the Aldoga Industrial Estate in the Gladstone State Development Area.
It has an initial production capacity of over two gigawatts per annum – significantly increasing current global production, and, at full capacity, enough to produce more than 200,000 tonnes of green hydrogen each year.
The next phase – a 50MW green hydrogen production facility called PEM50 – recently received development approval from Queensland’s Coordinator General.
PEM50 will use the locally-made Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolysers with approval to produce green hydrogen for local and export markets.
Once operational it will be the first commercial scale green hydrogen facility for Fortescue.
The Queensland Government said collectively, the two Fortescue projects would generate 240 jobs during construction and 93 ongoing local operational jobs.
Fortescue estimates that as the energy precinct continues to develop, more than 300 indirect local jobs will also be supported.
Fortescue Energy CEO Mark Hutchinson said the facility would position Gladstone as a leading Australian manufacturer of green energy technology.
“The world is looking for solutions to decarbonise, and green hydrogen has a major role to play in this. As the demand for green hydrogen grows, so too will the demand for the electrolysers needed to produce it,” Mr Hutchinson said.
“This facility, delivered and commissioned in less than 2 years and with one of the only automated production lines of its kind, is a demonstration of what is possible when governments and business work together in the interests of our economy and our environment.”
