Provaris Energy announced it has lodged a Referral submission to the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) for its proposed 2.8 GW Tiwi H2 Project on the Tiwi Islands (the Referral).

Provaris’ Managing Director and CEO, Martin Carolan, commented: “The Referral submission for the Tiwi H2 Project is a key milestone for Provaris, as the Company continues to demonstrate the benefits of compressed hydrogen as an export carrier to alternatives that require mega-scale and capital and energy intensive processes for conversion to transport and reconversion back to hydrogen. Tiwi H2 offers the NT and Australia a first mover advantage for the export of green hydrogen into Asia.”

The Referral has been prepared to inform the NT EPA of the proposal by Provaris to develop green hydrogen production and export facilities on Melville Island, within the Tiwi Islands of the Northern Territory (NT). The hydrogen will be produced by electrolysis of purified sea water powered by solar energy, with production expected to reach 100,000 tonnes of hydrogen per annum.

Provaris’ Executive Director and Chief Development Officer, Garry Triglavcanin continued: “The Referral has been developed to demonstrate the Tiwi H2 Project will develop a safe, sustainable and efficient supply chain for exporting green hydrogen in a way that minimises environmental and social impacts. Provaris is committed to working closely with the Tiwi Island stakeholders to develop a project that delivers benefits to the local community during all project phases. With the Referral submission now lodged, Provaris expects the NT EPA decision on level of assessment to follow in October 2022.”

Provaris is committed to making the future of green hydrogen accessible through the simplicity and efficiency of compressed hydrogen, and the Tiwi H2 Project has the potential to be Australia’s first export project of gaseous green hydrogen.

Being primarily located on existing plantation land and within Port Melville, the Tiwi H2 Project aims to minimise environmental impacts (compared to the selection of a greenfield site), development time and costs, as well as provide proximity and access to the future demand markets in the Asia-Pacific region.