Desert Bloom Hydrogen

Summary

Desert Bloom Hydrogen is a world-first, commercial-scale project that will produce truly renewable hydrogen for domestic and export markets. The US $10.75 billion green hydrogen project, which will produce hydrogen at less than US $2/kg by 2027 and export ~410,000 metric tonnes of hydrogen when at full operation, has been awarded Major Project Status by the NT Government and has an agreement with one of Japan's largest gas buyers and distributors for future investment.

The project utilises proven technology in innovative ways to produce commercial quantities of green hydrogen without impacting water resources -- significantly reducing the capital and operating costs associated with green hydrogen production.

Desert Bloom Hydrogen is strategically located in the Northern Territory of Australia, with access to the world’s highest solar irradiation, key pipeline, and transport infrastructure, and the Asia-adjacent port of Darwin.

Commercially-ready

Based at Tennant Creek, Aqua Aerems' technology is proven and ready to operate at a commercial scale. Desert Bloom Hydroge has recently executed an agreement with one of Japan’s largest gas buyers and distributors to invest in the project.

With the project to be built on land adjacent to the existing gas-fired Tennant Creek Power Station, an agreement has been signed with the NT’s power utility with the intention for it to offtake hydrogen from Desert Bloom’s initial stages.

Proven technology

Aqua Aerem’s air-to-water technology, powered by off-grid solar, has enabled Desert Bloom to overcome the water supply problem that has held back global renewable hydrogen production for many years. The project will consist of a series of modular and portable 2MW Hydrogen Production Units (HPUs) that each generates water, heat, electricity, and hydrogen. Desert Bloom Hydrogen will comprise approximately 4,000 HPUs at its peak.

Strategic location

The project is located in the outback of the Northern Territory of Australia, which receives 2922kWh/m2 of solar irradiation annually -- among the highest levels in the world. Desert Bloom Hydrogen is also adjacent to key pipeline, rail, and road transport infrastructure leading directly to the Darwin Port, the most direct export route to key Asian markets and hydrogen demand centres.

The Project

Desert Bloom is an integrated power, water, and hydrogen production facility consisting of a series of modular and portable 2MW Hydrogen Production Units (HPUs) that each generate water, heat, electricity, and hydrogen.

Each HPU contains:

Photovoltaic (“PV”) solar system;
A Concentrated Parabolic Trough (“CPT”) solar thermal heater;
A Water Producing Unit (“WPU”); and
An electrolyser.

At its peak, Desert Bloom Hydrogen will comprise approximately 4,000 HPUs producing about 410,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

Each HPU is a discrete unit that can operate independently of other HPUs, meaning that they can be co-located or can be located separately.

In addition, the WPU and accompanying electrolyser are both containerised solutions enabling them to be manufactured remotely, for example, in Darwin and shipped easily by rail or road to the desired location. The electrolyser is also a containerised solution for the same reason.

The modular nature of the key equipment provides wide flexibility to deal with issues that arise during construction and operations. It also allows the equipment to be moved to new locations if necessary. This is a major advantage of other large-scale hydrogen projects that require significant capital investment on support infrastructure for their projects.