Canadian energy player Amp Energy has been picked by Australian miner Iron Road Ltd as lead developer for 5 GW Cape Hardy Green Hydrogen Project in South Australia's Eyre Peninsula. I will be supported by Amp's nearby wind and solar projects on freehold land which it will continue to develop in parallel.
Private equity firm The Carlyle Group funded Amp had prepared a concept design for the 5 GW electrolyzer project and associated green hydrogen and ammonia production facility at Cape Hardy which got it selected in the competitive offer-to-bid exercise.
Amp and Iron Road have now executed a strategic framework agreement, starting a 9-month exclusivity period during with a detailed project schedule and scope of work will be developed.
The Canadian company is tasked with assembling additional consortium partners for the Cape Hardy project and complete early feasibility and master planning work before commercial arrangements can be made, through the end of the decade.
Iron Road CEO Larry Ingle said, "We are delighted to be working exclusively with Amp for the next 9 months and beyond on a green energy production and export development opportunity of national significance. This important milestone further validates Cape Hardy as South Australia's pre-eminent hydrogen export hub of scale."
Cape Hardy is being developed as a new industrial precinct on the Eyre Peninsula where Iron Road operates its Central Eyre Iron Project (CEIP). The site of the Cape Hardy project is close to existing transmission infrastructure and a deep-water port. It is expected to produce over 5 million tons per annum green ammonia on completion.
Iron Road expects the green hydrogen project benefiting CEIP from large-scale renewable energy generation in proximity and transmission that can serve as a catalyst for a long-life, industry competitive operating cost structure for high quality steelmaking feedstock.
Amp calls itself among the largest hydrogen developers in Australia where it says it is progressing the development of 20 GW electrolyzer capacity across 3 precincts which will have enough capacity to produce 19 million ton green ammonia annually.
"The development of strategically located, transmission-connected green hydrogen and ammonia facilities at select locations such as Cape Hardy in South Australia is critical to our continued global growth and long-term strategy," said Amp Co-Founder and CIO Paul Ezekiel.