Queensland state-owned energy company Stanwell announced Tuesday it has secured land for a proposed 3,000-megawatt green hydrogen project in Central Queensland, Australia.

The 236-hectare site at Aldoga is located 20 kilometres west of Gladstone and deemed the “preferred location” by Stanwell and its partner Iwatani Corporation – Japan's largest domestic hydrogen supplier.

That’s because of its size and proximity to port, power and pipeline infrastructure. It’s also located within a large-scale industrial development and near the proposed Central Queensland Renewable Energy Zone, which could supply renewable power to run the plant.

The project is planned to export the carbon-free fuel to Japan, as well as to meet local demand from Gladstone industries. It would be the largest of its kind in Queensland, starting up in the mid-2020s and scaling up to over 3,000 MW of electrolysis capacity by the early 2030s, says Stanwell’s ceo Adam Aspinall.

At its peak, the project “would provide over 5,000 new jobs, $4.2 billion in hydrogen exports and $10 billion to Queensland’s Gross State Product over its 30-year life,” adds Aspinall. “It would also benefit construction, utilities, heavy manufacturing and a range of local service industries.”

According to the ceo, the partners are currently building a broader consortium of Japanese and Australian companies to progress the project to the next stage – detailed feasibility study – in the second half of 2021.