ENGIE and POSCO Holdings have signed an agreement to conduct a pre-feasibility study for a flagship green hydrogen project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The project will supply green hydrogen to POSCO Group’s proposed Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) plant for the production of green iron in Port Hedland, with the potential to supply green fuel to South Korea to decarbonise POSCO’s existing assets.
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The study will support and refine the development plans for inland renewable energy sites in the Pilbara, including wind and solar generation, a hydrogen electrolyser, large-scale storage capability and pipeline capable of delivering green hydrogen to POSCO Group’s HBI plant, once operational.
ENGIE Australia & New Zealand CEO Rik De Buyserie said the study was an important first step in extending ENGIE’s hydrogen activities in Australia and signals the start of the ENGIE Group involvement in an emerging sector of the energy market.
“ENGIE is committed to accelerating the transition to a carbon-neutral economy. Developing green hydrogen as a feedstock to reduce heavy manufacturing emissions is key to helping our partners to achieve their sustainability goals,” he said.
“Business and the community in the Pilbara can see the opportunities and benefits to decarbonising. This also means more jobs in new industries and providing a boost in economic activity across the region in the short and long term.
“Australia is a market where ENGIE is actively looking to grow its hydrogen operations, and we’re optimistic that this study will help us progress a second significant hydrogen development in the Pilbara, to help achieve the net zero goals of another hard-to-abate industry.”
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POSCO aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, through adopting hydrogen reduction processes in iron and steel making. The POSCO Port Hedland Green Steel (PHGS) project plans to secure low-carbon iron and steel by reducing iron ore through Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) technology and Hot Briquetted Iron) production. The produced green hydrogen will be utilised as a reducing agent under this process.
