Woodside and Tasmanian Government sign MOU on H2TAS project

Woodside Energy’s H2TAS renewable hydrogen project will be supported by the Tasmanian Government, as outlined in the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

H2TAS project is a renewable hydrogen project located in Tasmania’s Bell Bay, north of Launceston, that utilizes Tasmanian’s advantage in green energy. H2TAS is the only Tasmanian project among seven shortlisted in the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s $70 million Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Funding Round. The project’s participants are Woodside and Countrywide Renewable Energy.

The proposal involves a 10 megawatt pilot project producing 4.5 tonnes per day of hydrogen for domestic use, targeting the transportation sector.

Peter Coleman, Woodside CEO, said: “Woodside shares the Tasmanian Government’s net-zero aspiration and welcomes the Government’s leadership in supporting the growth of a domestic hydrogen industry. The Government has taken concrete actions such as creating the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan, establishing the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Fund and signing this MOU. Woodside is focused on moving beyond feasibility studies and is targeting hydrogen production at H2TAS in the first half of 2023, following a targeted final investment decision in the third quarter of 2021.”

Parallel with the MOU, Woodside has executed a non-binding term sheet with Tas Gas, a Tasmanian natural gas retailer, to develop a framework for blending green hydrogen into the Tasmanian gas network.

Tas Gas CEO Phaedra Deckart said: “Our networks are relatively new and capable of safely conveying hydrogen, unlike older systems across Australia”.

These kinds of projects are placing Tasmania on the map of the renewable hydrogen hubs of the Asia-Pacific region.