Oil and gas giant BP Australia has purchased a majority stake in a green hydrogen hub in the state of Western Australia (WA), which has the potential to be the largest of its kind in the world.
BP announced on Wednesday that it had acquired a 40.5 percent stake in the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), making it the largest stakeholder in the 52 billion Australian dollars (about 36 billion U.S. dollars) project.
Upon completion, the AREH, which would include onshore wind and solar power generation, is expected to reach a generating capacity of 26 gigawatts or over 90 terawatt-hours per year, around a third of all electricity generated in Australia in 2020.
At full capacity, it is expected to negate 17 million tonnes of carbon in domestic and export markets annually.
Green hydrogen is hydrogen generated through renewable energies and incurs much lower carbon emissions than hydrogen produced via traditional processes such as natural gas. As such it is seen as a key method to decarbonize sectors that are hard to electrify, such as WA's mammoth mining industry.
The AREH is part of BP's strategic goal to reach a 10 percent share of the globe's core hydrogen market.
Editor: Galia
