IBERDROLA PLANS TO INVEST $1.1B IN GREEN METHANOL PLANT IN TASMANIA

Spanish energy company Iberdrola has joined a growing number of firms

seeking opportunities in Australia’s burgeoning hydrogen industry, and it has

announced plans to invest more than $1.1 billion in a new green methanol

plant.

Iberdrola has partnered with developer ABEL Energy to build a green

hydrogen and green methanol production plant at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania,

which will have a capacity to produce 300,000 tonnes of green methanol for use

as marine fuel.

The project, called Bell Bay Powerfuels, is backed by the Australian

government and is designed to produce 200,000 tonnes of green methanol per year

in its first phase of development. This would increase to 300,000 tonnes in its

second phase, making it one of the largest projects of its kind in the world.

The green methanol will be used to supply the maritime market, as well as other

applications.

Iberdrola’s massive investment is informed by a growing trend in which

leading shipping companies are opting for large ships designed to run on

ultra-clean-burning green methanol, a zero-carbon alternative which would

eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the use of fossil fuels.

Australia has emerged as a big player in the hydrogen business. Since the

release of the country’s National Hydrogen Strategy in 2019, there is now an $85

billion pipeline of announced hydrogen investments. These include over 15

projects that have passed final investment decision and over 80 announced

renewable hydrogen projects.

A big player in renewable energy with an objective of exceeding 60,000 MW

of renewable capacity by 2025, Iberdrola is developing 60 renewable and green H2

initiatives in eight different countries. It has acquired Infigen Energy,

Australia’s leading renewable energy company, and plans to invest between $2

billion and $3 billion in the country with the aim of reaching 4,000 MW of

renewables capacity in the coming years. It is moving fast towards that goal: in

the first half of this year, Iberdrola acquired the rights to the world’s

largest onshore wind farm at Mount James, with an installed capacity of 1,000

MW.