Tasmania's hydro power and growing wind generation capacity could allow the state to become one of the most competitive producers of green hydrogen in the world, according to the report of a joint feasibility study by the Tasmanian government and the Port of Rotterdam released on Wednesday.
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The study, which was commissioned in 2021, claims that renewable electricity from Hydro Tasmania could be used to produce huge amounts of hydrogen, ammonia or methanol at Bell Bay and profitably ship it to Europe.
Until last year, Russia supplied approximately a third of Europe's natural gas, as well as a substantial proportion of its crude oil and coal imports.
But following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU banned Russian energy imports and the search for a replacement fuel led to a surge in demand for green hydrogen on the continent.
Allard Castelein, chief executive officer of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, said the Dutch port would need to become a site of hydrogen production as well as a transit point in order to successfully transition Europe away from Russian energy.
"For a successful transition, we need to import hydrogen as well because we need more green hydrogen in Northwest Europe than we can make ourselves," he said.
The European Union is targeting green hydrogen production of 10 million tonnes for annum and imports of 10 million tonnes per annum by 2030.
According to the joint feasibility study with Rotterdam port, Tasmania could play a role in that using its hydro power generation.
Unlike other forms of renewable energy, hydro electricity could continue to provide power to hydrogen plants even during periods of low wind and solar generation.
This firming capacity would allow hydrogen proponents to more fully utilise their production capacity, shaving costs.
Energy Minister Guy Barnett said the study confirmed the state's potential to export green hydrogen to Europe.
"Importantly, the study demonstrates that the shipping distance from Bell Bay to Rotterdam is not a limiting factor to exporting hydrogen from the state," he said.
The state government has committed to doubling the amount of renewable energy capacity by 2030, including through its Battery of the Nation and Marinus Link projects.
The companies seeking to build plants at Bell Bay include Abel Energy, which recently signed a deal to produce hydrogen in the area in partnership with Spanish wind turbines giant Iberdrola.
But Tasmania's hydrogen strategy has also had some setbacks.
Two sources have confirmed that Fortescue Future Industries has put its plans for a 240MW hydrogen plant at Bell Bay on hold, and made its Tasmanian staff redundant.
Another company, Origin Energy, in a feasibility report last year cast doubt about whether electricity prices were low enough and capacity sufficient to meet the needs of its proposed Bell Bay plant.
