ENEOS invests A$200 million in Australian green hydrogen demonstration plant

Japanese energy company ENEOS is building a A$200 million green hydrogen demonstration plant in Brisbane, Queensland.

The plant will produce up to 680 kilograms of green hydrogen per day from 2026.

The green hydrogen will be in the form of methylcyclohexane (MCH). MCH can be transported at room temperature and normal pressure, making it easy to store and transport. ENEOS will ship a portion to Japan.

ENEOS will start building the plant in 2025. Production is expected to start by the middle of the following year. The project will run for two years and create 100 jobs.

The new plant builds on an earlier investment in a smaller demonstration plant at the same site. 

Australia and Japan to collaborate on project

ENEOS is partnering with Japanese companies such as Chiyoda Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Industries, TOPPAN and AGC on the project. It is also working with Australian companies such as GPA and GRPS.

The demonstration project was commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). NEDO is Japan’s national research and development agency. 

The project was also supported by the Green Innovation (GI) Fund established by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The GI Fund is an approximately A$28 billion fund aimed at helping Japan achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Australia’s green hydrogen opportunities

Australia is set to become a major producer of green hydrogen. There are currently over 100 hydrogen projects (Source: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, National Hydrogen Strategy 2024) under development in the country. Of these, 31 are operating or under construction (CSIRO, HyResource Database). 

Australia is also close to economies such as Japan and Korea that want to decarbonise their heavy industries. These economies have expressed a significant interest in importing renewable hydrogen and its derivatives.