ABEL Energy has joined forces with Worley to advance the design and development of its flagship $1.7 billion green hydrogen and methanol project at Bell Bay in Northern Tasmania.
The collaboration signifies a major stride toward Australia’s energy transition goals.
Worley will provide multi-discipline engineering, procurement, and construction services to facilitate the project’s progression to a successful final investment decision.
The collaboration aims to deliver the Bell Bay Powerfuels Project, scheduled to commence green hydrogen production by 2028.
The project’s primary focus is to produce 300,000 tonnes of green methanol annually, serving the shipping industry’s demand for cleaner fuels.
The process involves 240MW of water electrolysis to generate green hydrogen, which is then combined with carbon from sustainable biomass sources to produce green methanol.
Shipping giants such as Maersk and CMA CGM are increasingly investing in vessels capable of running on green methanol, contributing to significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Beyond its application as a clean shipping fuel, the methanol can serve as a building block for green chemicals and sustainable aviation fuel.
Worley will collaborate with local Tasmania-based engineering company pitt&sherry on the project. The front-end engineering design (FEED) phase is expected to run for 12 months.
ABEL said it has its high expectation on the project.
“We are very pleased to have appointed Worley and pitt&sherry to deliver the Front-End Engineering Design for our flagship project. We already have a strong and collaborative working relationship and we have every confidence that together we will deliver an exceptional project,” ABEL Energy Chief Technology Officer Rhys Tucker said.
Worley Location Director for Australia East, PNG & Mongolia, Mark Accadia also expressed his enthusiasm.
“With a history of delivering in Bell Bay for almost 30 years, leading this next critical phase of ABEL Energy’s Bell Bay Powerfuels Project is a great example of building on our past to help deliver a lower carbon future. We look forward to applying Worley’s global expertise across the entire e-methanol value chain to support this flagship project. Together with ABEL and pitt&sherry, we’re excited to progress sustainable change across hard to abate industries,” Accadia said.
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