Hazer readies start for demonstration hydrogen plant

Perth’s Hazer Group believes it has overcome obstacles to a 2023 start up of its commercial demonstration plant (CDP) to produce clean hydrogen from biomass in Perth.

The project at the Western Australian Water Board’s Woodman Point wastewater treatment plant has faced escalating costs and equipment failures, including in 2022 of a heat exchanger at the heart of the process.

The Hazer process enables the effective conversion of natural gas, and similar feedstocks, into hydrogen and high quality graphite, using iron ore as a process catalyst.

The company told investors that it was on schedule to commence the second ‘hot operations’ phase of its facility to produce hydrogen and graphitic carbon in 2023.

Procurement activities for a replacement heat exchanger and hot reactor equipment have now progressed beyond previous critical failure points, facilitating the commissioning of the CDP in Q3/Q4 of 2023.

The replacement heat exchanger has successfully completed the heat treatment process and will undergo final assembly for delivery to the site in August.

Final fabrication of the hot reactor materials is complete and targeting a September delivery.

Hazer’s Managing Director and CEO Glen Corrie said: “This is a significant set of hurdles now passed that strengthens the confidence in delivering our target of CDP start-up in 2023.

“The resourcefulness and resolve of the team has enabled us to accelerate the procurement and fabrication process ensuring that quality standards are met while maintaining schedule.”

Corrie said the CDP, supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), would deliver the demonstration of the company’s technology at a continuous, industrial scale.

This would allow optimisation for commercial deployment to provide a low cost solution for a hard to abate sector.

Hazer is also developing a 100,000 tonne per annum facility in Japan utilising its Hazer process to produce hydrogen from biogas.

Further reading:
Hazer Group hydrogen plant to be constructed in Japan
Browse @AuManufacturing’s coverage of Hazer Group here

Picture: Hazer Group