“There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in the energy sector.”
That’s the message from John Ivulich, CEO of the Australian arm of ATCO, a global energy infrastructure and logistics company, which has a strong local presence across Australia.
“Having been in the energy industry for quite some time, I’ve seen lots of change but we know the change that’s occurred over recent years is nothing like what we’re going to witness in the years ahead,” he said.
ATCO launched in Australia in the early 1960s, when its first factory to build prefabricated modular buildings was established in Elizabeth, South Australia.
Since then, ATCO has built and now operates a cogeneration power plant in Osborne, SA, in a joint venture with Origin Energy, and commissioned and operates the Karratha Power Station. The company has also commissioned and built the now decommissioned Bulwer power plant in Brisbane, and owns and operates the 14,500km gas distribution networks servicing about 800,000 customers in the Perth metropolitan area and regional areas, including Geraldton, Bunbury, Albany and Kalgoorlie.
“We have exciting things to look forward to as part of Australia’s energy transition,” Ivulich said.
“Australia is the best place to be if you want to be part of this important task to develop energy solutions for a sustainable world.
“We have an abundance of opportunity here, richness of natural resources – which are the envy of the world – and a favourable business climate to lead the world in reducing emissions from our energy consumption. We are well placed to be part of this transition.”
Ivulich said ATCO had been an early adopter in renewable hydrogen, investing in clean fuel research and development for many years, culminating in the opening of its Clean Energy Innovation Hub. This facility has garnered huge interest from governments and business delegations from around the world, and led to ATCO building similar projects in Canada and the US.
This clean energy microgrid consists of 300 kilowatts (kW) of solar photovoltaic cells, 500kW lithium batteries and a 200kW electrolyser, which can produce 65kg of hydrogen a day.
“We’ve been investing in renewable hydrogen production here in Western Australia for six years, so we’re well advanced to progress this work in the energy transition,” Ivulich said.
“Our Clean Energy Innovation Hub in Jandakot is the first renewable hydrogen facility in Australia to utilise cross sector coupling, producing, storing and utilising hydrogen in a number of ways onsite.
“It’s an operational model of solar, battery and renewable hydrogen production through electrolysis. Through this, we’re demonstrating hydrogen can be blended into the gas distribution network to reduce emissions, generating electricity from stored hydrogen through an onsite fuel cell, trialling hydrogen appliances in our hybrid home and training centre, and refuelling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, including four zero-emissions vehicles, which are part of our fleet.”
Ivulich said this work was helping to inform future investment decisions while building real-world experience in the hydrogen sector.
“ATCO’s fleet of four renewable hydrogen Toyota Mirais are demonstrating emissions-free transportation for passenger vehicles,” he said.
“This same concept can be scaled up to include commercial vehicles, trucks, buses and even trains, providing a critical solution for decarbonisation of transport in the pathway towards net zero. “Renewable hydrogen and other clean fuels are fast becoming central to decarbonisation plans around the world, and we are committed to using our experience and identifying innovative energy solutions that will further lower emissions.”
A consortium comprising ATCO Australia and BOC has been selected as the preferred partners for the South Australian Government’s Hydrogen Jobs Plan, featuring the world’s biggest hydrogen production facility, power plant and storage at Whyalla. “ATCO is delighted to be selected as a consortium partner for the design of the world’s biggest hydrogen plant, which will unlock decarbonisation opportunities and enhance prosperity for generations,” Ivulich said.
“This project will be transformational for the community, customers and the country. ATCO is committed to the energy transition across the globe and our combined expertise at energy, partnering and delivery over many decades makes this project a significant milestone in our history.”
ATCO is working towards a clean energy future with other projects focused on renewable generation and energy storage.
As Australia move towards 2030, ATCO’s focus is on supporting the energy transition and leading clean fuels project development in WA, New South Wales, SA and potenitally Queensland.
“With our significant investment in our 14,500km of pipeline supplying Perth and the regions, we are considering renewable gases for injection into the network, such as biomethane – a renewable equivalent of natural gas, which can be produced from waste,” Ivulich said.
“With renewable and lower emissions gases becoming increasingly available, we believe there is an opportunity for the gas network to be repurposed as a critical and integrated part of a lower-cost and sustainable energy future in WA.”
In addition to delivering cleaner energy, Ivulich said ATCO could enable its network to work with the electricity sector as an energy storage mechanism to support the intermittent nature of renewables – a giant battery connected to more than 800,000 WA homes and businesses.
“When excess energy is produced by renewable sources, hydrogen can be produced and stored in the gas distribution network,” he said.
Ivulich said when those renewable sources are not producing energy, the hydrogen can be used to create electricity.
While ATCO has a local focus, it has the global experience to support Australia’s energy transition.
ATCO is working towards developing a 325-megawatt pumped hydro project in NSW, delivering solar energy to remote First Nations in Alberta, Canada to reduce their reliance on diesel and delivering the southernmost utility-scale solar facility on the planet in Chile.
“Globally, almost a quarter of ATCO’s power generation portfolio is already coming from renewable sources, including hydroelectric, wind and solar, and we are on a firm trajectory to achieve our goal of owning, developing or managing more than 1000MW of renewable energy by 2030,” Ivulich said.
He added that the journey to net zero was not an insurmountable task.
“Some might see the energy transition as a challenge; we see it as a great opportunity,” he said.
“It is an opportunity to leverage our 75 years of global experience and innovation, our local knowledge and skills, our abundance of resources and our can-do attitude to deliver the energy solutions to provide a sustainable future.
“Our Clean Energy Innovation Hub in Jandakot is the first renewable hydrogen facility in Australia to utilise cross sector coupling, producing, storing and utilising hydrogen onsite.”
For more information,visit atco.com/en-au