Vopak to collaborate with H2U on renewable energy complex in Australia

The Hydrogen Utility® (H2U) and Vopak Terminals Australia are collaborating in a multi-billion renewable energy complex producing green hydrogen and green ammonia, which is proposed to be established in Gladstone, Queensland, Australia.

H2-Hub™ Gladstone is the largest green hydrogen and green ammonia development in Queensland, with 3 gigawatts (GW) in planned electrolyser capacity and more than 1.7 million tonnes per year of planned green ammonia production, and one of the most advanced export projects on a global scale. 

H2U is an independent, specialist developer of green hydrogen infrastructure, based in Australia, with a vision to expand globally. H2U focuses its infrastructure development initiatives on the opportunity to value-add renewable energy and integrating it in the production of green hydrogen for use as a fuel for energy, mobility and industrial applications, including as the building block for the manufacturing of green chemicals, primarily ammonia, and as a feedstock in the manufacturing of green metals, primarily green steel. 

Vopak Terminals Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Vopak, the world’s leading independent tank storage company with 78 terminals in 23 countries. Vopak has more than 20 years of experience in storing ammonia and owns and operates six ammonia terminals worldwide. 

Vopak’s expertise and presence in the main industrial clusters around the world makes the company well-equipped to actively contribute to the development of new supply chains for green ammonia and hydrogen. Half of Vopak’s growth investments towards 2030 are aimed for infrastructure accelerating the energy transition. Next to this project in Australia, Vopak is preparing for business opportunities in green ammonia in the Netherlands, Singapore and the United States. Vopak has been active in Australia for more than 40 years. 

H2U and Vopak will collaborate with existing partners to progress development of the project, focussing mainly on the Export Terminal of H2-Hub™ Gladstone. 

H2U has recently announced strategic collaborations and green ammonia offtake with partners in the domestic and export markets, including: 

• Orica Australia, the world’s largest provider of commercial explosives, operating the nearby Orica Yarwun Manufacturing Facility
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI Group), one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense, and Korea East-West Power (Korea EWP), one of six key power generation companies in Korea. Korea EWP is a wholly owned subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and the operator of the multi-GW Dangjin Power Generation complex. 

“This partnership fits well within Vopak’s strategic goal to accelerate towards new energies. We are excited to help shape a sustainable future by developing infrastructure solutions for new vital products, focusing on zero- and low-carbon hydrogen, ammonia, CO2, long duration energy storage and sustainable feedstocks,” said Paul Kanters, managing director of Vopak Terminals Australia.

“Our participation in the H2-Hub™ Gladstone project, announced today, positions Vopak as a key partner in one of the leading and most advanced green hydrogen and green ammonia projects worldwide,” he said.

“Vopak’s expertise, strong capability, and industry-leading track record as a multi-product storage terminal operator combined with their presence in the main industrial and port clusters globally, and within the Asia-Pacific region, brings H2-Hub™ Gladstone in a unique position to support offtakers in the rapidly growing market for green ammonia exports, including in the power generation and shipping sectors,” said H2U Founder and CEO Dr. Attilio Pigneri.