Stanwell Corporation and CQ-H2 consortium partners reach milestone for Queensland’s largest renewable hydrogen project in Gladstone

26 May 2023
  • Stanwell Corporation, together with the consortium partners for the Central Queensland hydrogen (CQ-H2) project, will now commence the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study for the project, with a commitment of AU$117 million from government and consortium partners.
  • The CQ-H2 FEED study represents the largest investment in an Australian renewable hydrogen project of its kind to date.
  • Successful completion of FEED will bring the project one step closer to a Final Investment Decision (FID), planned for late 2024.
  • The CQ-H2 project is Queensland’s largest renewable hydrogen project and ranks in the global top 10 hydrogen projects at the pre-FID stage, according to Deloitte’s recent “Hydrogen – Making it Happen” report.

The CQ-H2 project involves the development of a Hydrogen Production Facility, hydrogen gas pipeline and Hydrogen Liquefaction Facility, as well as supply of hydrogen to an ammonia production facility. The CQ-H2 project aims to deliver renewable hydrogen via its different carriers, to Japan and Singapore, as well as supplying large domestic customers in Central Queensland. Commercial operations are planned to commence from 2028.

The purpose of the FEED study is to develop the project’s technical, commercial, and social requirements to enable a Final Investment Decision to be made with confidence. The start of FEED follows the successful completion of a feasibility study in 2022, supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

Japanese foundation partners Iwatani Corporation, Kansai Electric Power Company, and Marubeni Corporation will partner with Stanwell to undertake the FEED study. Singapore-headquartered Keppel Infrastructure, an energy and environmental infrastructure business has also joined the CQ-H2 consortium. Keppel, alongside its partners Incitec Pivot, are separately developing a green ammonia production facility in Gladstone, which will source green hydrogen as a feedstock from CQ-H2, and deliver green ammonia to both domestic and overseas customers.

The project has secured FEED funding from all consortium members, as well as $20 million from the ARENA, and $15 million from the Queensland Government’s Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund.

The CQ-H2 project will support more than 8,900 new jobs at its peak, and will also deliver $17.2 billion in hydrogen exports and $12.4 billion to Queensland’s Gross State Product over its 30-year life. It will also benefit construction, utilities, heavy manufacturing, and a range of local service industries.

Stanwell is committed to working with the Gladstone community to ensure the project creates long-term benefits for the region, and will continue to lead stakeholder and community engagement activities in Gladstone during the FEED stage.

Quotes attributable to Stanwell CEO Michael O’Rourke:

“The advancement of this important hydrogen project is great news for Central Queensland, where the project could create thousands of jobs and deliver billions of dollars in economic benefit. We are proud to be leading the CQ-H2 project with our partners, which demonstrates our commitment to driving the development of Queensland’s hydrogen industry and other new technologies.”

Quotes attributable to Iwatani Corporation, Member of the Board, Senior Managing Officer Manabu Tsuyoshi:

“This is the significant big milestone for the CQ-H2 project and not only Central Queensland region but also Japanese society towards to the carbon neutrality. We are pleased that the project has steadily moved forward since we entered into partnership with Stanwell in 2020. Iwatani will continue to fulfil our role as co-leaders with our partners.”

Quotes attributable to Kansai Electric Power Company, Executive Vice President Makoto Araki:

“Through advancement of the CQ-H2 project we hope to enable long-term stable procurement of liquefied hydrogen to Japan, thereby enhancing our energy security and achieving carbon neutrality. The CQ-H2 project represents a significant step towards establishing a reliable liquefied hydrogen supply chain.”

Quotes attributable to Ms Cindy Lim, CEO of Keppel Infrastructure division:

“Through our partnership with Incitec Pivot and involvement in the CQ-H2 consortium, we are one step closer to making green ammonia and hydrogen a commercially viable energy source. Keppel’s strong track record in developing and operating efficient energy and environmental infrastructure combined with the expertise and experience of our partners will enable us to produce, store and transport green ammonia in a safe, scalable and cost competitive manner to end-users in Australia, Singapore and globally.”

Quotes attributable to Marubeni: Yoshiaki Yokota, Managing Executive Officer

“The commencement of FEED is a significant milestone for CQ-H2 and strengthens the project’s position as a first mover in the hydrogen industry. By combination of Marubeni’s vast and rich experiences in the development of the projects all over the world and the strong support from the Queensland Government, the Australian Government, ARENA, and the local stakeholders, we are confident in the project’s prospects for success and of establishing a competitive hydrogen supply chain in Queensland to contribute to carbon neutrality.”

Quotes attributable to Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), CEO Darren Miller:

“Stanwell’s project represents a near-term renewable hydrogen production opportunity at globally significant scale. The development of a renewable hydrogen hub in Gladstone could help decarbonise heavy industrial facilities in the region and create an export supply chain between Australia and Japan and Singapore.

“We’re looking to gain valuable learnings around the current cost of producing hydrogen from renewable energy at large-scale. This understanding is critical to scaling up hydrogen production in Australia and developing both the domestic and export industry for renewable hydrogen in line with Australia’s ambitions.”

Quotes attributable to Gladstone Regional Council, Mayor Matt Burnett:

“The Central Queensland Hydrogen Project is a catalyst for economic growth and job creation here in Gladstone. The CQ-H2 FEED study is essential to unlocking the potential of this initiative; we are optimistic about what this could mean for our community. “

“The CQ-H2 project delivers great potential to foster economic and local job growth in Gladstone. I’m proud to support this venture which has the potential to bring real value to our region – both now and decades into the future.”

“The commencement of the FEED study for the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project marks an exciting step toward unlocking incredible potential here in Gladstone and I welcome Stanwell and the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project’s ongoing commitment to working with the community throughout this process.”

Further Information: Key milestones for CQ-H2

  • secured land for the Hydrogen Production Facility through Economic Development Queensland in Aldoga near Gladstone (April 2021)
  • secured funding from the Japanese Government (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to support Japanese partners’ contribution to the feasibility study (June 2021)
  • signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CQ-H2 consortium and commenced the feasibility study (September 2021)
  • secured Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding of $2.17 million for the feasibility study (September 2021)
  • Stanwell signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Acciona to source energy from the Aldoga Solar Farm for the CQ-H2 Project (December 2021)
  • secured $69.2 million from the Australian Government for the Stanwell-led Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub, which includes funding for common user infrastructure that will support the CQ-H2 project (April 2022, confirmed through October 2022 Federal Budget)
  • completed a detailed feasibility study (June 2022)
  • Queensland Government announced FEED funding of $15 million through the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund (June 2022)
  • signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly fund a pre-FEED stage to complete the planning required to commence FEED in early 2023 (November 2022)
  • signed a Participation Agreement with consortium partners to jointly fund the FEED stage to move the project towards FID (May 2023).
  • secured Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding of $20 million for the FEED stage (May 2023).

More information

Further information on our project, can be found on the hydrogen project page or by emailing hydrogen@stanwell.com