Danish investors bets big on green hydrogen production

Danish investment group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has announced plans to build a green hydrogen production hub in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula valued at up to $30 billion, according to reports.

The company’s Evergreen project aims to install 14 GW of solar and wind capacity and seven GW of electrolysis capacity – the equivalent of as many as 1,600 wind turbines -as part of green hydrogen projects planned for the northern Spencer Gulf region around the steelmaking city of Whyalla.

CIP recently opened a Melbourne office and is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments.

It has previously backed Australia’s first offshore wind farm, the Star of the South in Victoria and the 5,000-MW Murchison green hydrogen project in Western Australia.

According to media reports, CIP has been negotiating with private and traditional owners inland of Iron Knob in the Middleback Ranges as the site for solar PV and wind assets.

The mining arm of the GFG Alliance, the owner of the Whyalla steel works, Simec Mining mines haematite ore at Iron Knob
in the Middleback Ranges (pictured) for export.

Meanwhile the focus for hydrogen production is around Whyalla where the state government is making land available for green hydrogen projects.

CIP vice president Matthew Stuchbery told RenewEconomy: “Everyone’s looking at Whyalla and we will do the same in the first instance. I think there’s plenty of land there for everyone to play with.

“But the first thing that we want to do is get met masts up in the ground…(because) competitive hydrogen requires deeply competitive electricity prices.”

The region is emerging as a hydrogen hot spot along with the South Australia government examining proposals to build an Australian-first 200MW green hydrogen power plant, as well as hydrogen storage capabilities at Whyalla.

Meanwhile also on Eyre Peninsula, mining group Iron Road has selected Amp Energy as lead green hydrogen developer for its Cape Hardy green hydrogen project, which will feature a 5GW scale green hydrogen production facility proposed by Amp Energy.

Further reading:
Iron Road selects Amp Energy for Eyre Peninsula hydrogen hub
SA acts to build Australian first green hydrogen power plant

Picture: Simec Mining/iron ore mining in the Middleback Ranges