On 28 June 2023, The Mornington Peninsula News, published an article, “Friends Petition Aims to Stop Hydrogen Project”. In the article, Friends of the Earth’s Freya Leonard continues to quote discredited Australia Institute analysis of the carbon intensity of HESC hydrogen.
The Australia Institute report (May 2022) was based on the false hypothesis that the HESC Project would proceed into a commercial phase without carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The HESC Project Partners, the Victorian Government, the Australian Government, and the Japanese Government would not support or proceed with a HESC Project without CCS. Making the analysis irrelevant.
HESC has already responded to claims about the efficacy of CCS, the methodology used to calculate forecast carbon emission reductions and other issues raised by the Australia Institute.
The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) Project at a commercial scale would produce 225,000 tonnes per year of liquid hydrogen and reduce CO2 emissions by 1.8mt per year, the equivalent of the emissions of 350,000 cars.
Earlier this year, the Australian Government Minister for Resources, Madeline King, told the Global CCS Institute Conference that carbon capture presents an opportunity to decarbonise Australia’s energy exports.
Minister King said the use of CCUS (Carbon Capture, Use and Storage) will allow Australia to become a top exporter of low-carbon intensity energy in our region.
In relation to the flame incident on the Suiso Frontier in January 2022, the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau conducted a full investigation and concluded that the flame was a result of a gas control equipment malfunction that was swiftly addressed by the robust fire prevention controls aboard and the vessel’s experienced crew. There were no injuries or damage to equipment or the surrounding environment, and the vessel safely completed its journey to Japan.