Port of Newcastle, Australia, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have signed an MOU setting out a pathway towards a world-class clean energy economy in the Hunter Region.
The port’s Clean Energy Precinct secured a $100-million government in the 2022 Federal Budget.
Port of Newcastle CEO Craig Carmody said the once in a generation project was the centrepiece of the Port's future diversification strategy. “Our dedicated 220-hectare Clean Energy Precinct will offer the perfect platform for large scale clean energy production, which will be supported by common user, open access, shared infrastructure across clean energy storage, transport and export facilities servicing production from the Precinct itself and from right across the Hunter Region.”
Dr. Hitoshi Kaguchi, Senior Executive Vice President at MHI, said: "We are delighted to be involved in a major development project for the Port of Newcastle, a promising hydrogen hub in Australia. We possess various technologies that are considered necessary for the realization of a hydrogen hub in the Port of Newcastle, such as hydrogen and ammonia power generation and CO2 capture technologies, ammonia and methanol production plants, ammonia and CO2 carriers, etc., and based on these technologies, we will study the optimization of the equipment configuration for the energy facility in the port. The port has long been an important base for Japan as a resource shipping port, and through this project, we will work together with the port to contribute to the decarbonization of Australia and Japan.”
Port of Newcastle has signed other MOU agreements to support the development, storage and export pathway enablement of a clean energy economy at the port, including with coNEXA, EnergyCo, Energy Estate, Eurus Energy, Fortescue Future Industries, Hunter Hydrogen Network, KEPCO (Korea), Lake Macquarie City Council, Lumea (Transgrid), MOL Group (Japan), Orica, Origin, Platform Zero (Rotterdam) and University of Newcastle.
Among those to also pledge their support formally for the Port’s Clean Energy Precinct plans are AGL, Ampcontrol, Aurizon, bp Australia, Business Hunter, Hunter iF, Hyundai Australia, Infrabuild, Jemena, Keolis Downer, Linde Engineering, NewH2, Newcastle City Council, Snowy Hydro and Westrac.
Project Lead and the Port's Chief Commercial Officer Simon Byrnes said the Clean Energy Precinct MOUs spanned collaboration on the development of inland and offshore wind projects, electricity transmission and water supply, clean energy production, clean energy storage, distribution and export facilities, export and bunkering, skills and training pathways, advanced manufacturing and innovation hubs. The partners will also explore opportunities for the export of clean energy products to Japan.
