A Fortescue Future Industries team design, build and test an electrolyzer ahead of schedule. (Photo: Fortescue Futures Industries)
Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) reported it made industrial-grade hydrogen using an electrolyzer designed and built by a team at its facility in Western Australia. The electrolyzer, a pressurized alkaline system, is one of several planned that will form a patented range of solutions.
The range will help the company produce 15 million metric tons (mt) of hydrogen by 2030, FFI reported. “The FFI team has designed and operated our own electrolyzer system, which will be key to developing FFI’s green hydrogen production into the future,” CEO Julie Shuttleworth said.
The team reportedly spent thousands of hours researching and developing the electrolyzer. It was completed ahead of schedule. “This is not the first time FFI’s team of experts have beaten their stretch targets,” FFI Chairman Andrew Forrest said. “Earlier this year, FFI retrofitted a huge mining haul truck to run on hydrogen, producing only steam, in just 130 days.”
FFI is installing solar panels at the Dawson Road facility. The panels will enable the electrolyzer to produce hydrogen this year.
In October, FFI announced a 50/50 joint venture with Power Plug Inc. to build a Gigafactory in Queensland, Australia. The 2-gigawatt factory will produce large-scale proton-exchange membrane electrolyzers, and could expand to make other hydrogen-related refueling and storage infrastructure.
In the partnership, Plug Power will supply the electrolyzer and fuel cell technology, and FFI will supply advanced manufacturing capabilities. FFI will be the primary customer for the products. It will also purchase 250 megawatts of Plug Power’s electrolyzer solutions supplied from a factory in Rochester, New York, USA.
“We need solar panels, wind towers and electrolyzers in such scale that we need to produce them where we use them, including in Australia,” Shuttleworth said. “We have enough solar and wind in Australia to power many countries of the world,” she said. “Working together with Plug Power, we can create this future.”
