ABB to provide technology for HESC pilot

Industrial technology company ABB has announced it will provide technology for Australia’s Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) pilot project.

ABB will provide and integrate electrical equipment for the pilot project, including LV switchgear and distribution panels, power quality components, UPS, end-to-end engineering, project management and commissioning services.

The company will also provide instrumentation, motor and gearboxes for the new Hydrogen Liquefaction and Loading Terminal at the pilot production facilities at the Port of Hastings in Victoria.

The $500 million HESC pilot aims to test the production of clean hydrogen in Australia and its export to Japan.

The pilot aims to test production of hydrogen gas through brown coal gasification, followed by the liquefaction of hydrogen gas, as well as storage and loading onto the world’s first specialised hydrogen transport carrier.

The Australian and Victorian governments have each agreed to commit $50 million towards the $500 million pilot.

The remainder of the budget will be provided by a consortium of Australia and Japan’s top energy and infrastructure companies. Consortium members include Kawasaki and its Australian subsidiary Hydrogen Engineering Australia (HEA), as well as AGL, Japan’s J-Power and J-Power Latrobe Valley, Iwatani Corporation and Marubeni Corporation.

The pilot phase of the ABB project will commence next year. The federal government projects that the emerging business could create $2 billion worth of exports nationally per year, and the global hydrogen market is projected to reach US$2.5 trillion ($3.65 trillion) by 2050.