DFS confirms Bristol Springs as low-cost near-term hydrogen producer

Frontier Energy has wrapped up the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for its Bristol Springs hydrogen project in WA and it’s looking good for low-cost near-term hydrogen.

The company says the study has reaffirmed the potential for the project to be a leader in the Australian green (low carbon) hydrogen industry, benefiting significantly from proximity to existing infrastructure that drives annual production of green hydrogen to 4.9Mkg pa at a total cost of A$2.77/kg (inclusive of capital costs).

The total initial capital cost for Stage One is estimated at $242.5 million (slightly up from the pre-feasibility study estimate of $236.2m), inclusive of the 114MW solar farm and a 36MW alkaline electrolyser.

This makes Bristol Springs one of the lowest reported costs for a green hydrogen project of this scale in Australia.

“We are delighted with the outcome of the Study as it again highlighted the unique opportunity we have at Bristol Springs to be a first mover in the green hydrogen industry,” Sam Lee Mohan said.

“The infrastructure surrounding the Project not only allows for our forecast costs to be some of the lowest in Australia for green hydrogen production but also provides an opportunity for early production as the industry continues to mature over time.

“We believe the most likely pathways to early production will come from hard-to-abate sectors through accessing the nearby Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline, which can already take up to 9% hydrogen, as well as the potential for the development of a peaking plant, which uses hydrogen for flexible energy generation to meet high demand periods on the WA electricity grid.

“Both of these potential early pathways to production are in line with the Western Australian Government’s strategy and targets for the production and consumption of green hydrogen within the State.”