Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio with Victorian Minister for Regional Development Harrit Sing, Member for Western Victoria Jacinta Ermacora, HAMR Energy Director David Stribley and the HAMR team outside the Port of Portland.
The Victorian Government is backing a proposed green methanol project in the Green Triangle with support for a new feasibility study that could see Portland become home to one of Australia’s first green shipping fuel production hubs. Source: Timberbiz
The proposed plant would see residue from Blue Gums in the Green Triangle turned into green methanol.
The proposal has been put forward by HAMR Energy, an Australian energy company dedicated to accelerating the nation’s transition to low-carbon fuel.
It plans to process 300,000 tons per year of biomass per year from the Green Triangle to produce 200,000 tonnes of green methanol per year.
The methanol would be then shipped to Melbourne and bunkered at the Port of Melbourne for use as fuel by the international shipping industry.
The Minister for Regional Development Harriet Shing announced a new study for the renewable fuel manufacturing hub in the portside city, with $500,000 invested through the Government’s Portland Diversification Fund.
The feasibility study will be led by Portland H2 – a subsidiary of HAMR Energy – towards establishing the plant.
The study includes preliminary engineering and planning for the plant that would also include a 100-megawatt electrolyser to produce renewable hydrogen from water.
Shipping is responsible for more than 2% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and the use of green methanol can reduce the carbon intensity by 90 per cent when compared to heavy fuel oil that is currently used.
HAMR Energy believes Portland is a prime location for a renewable methanol facility, located near Australia’s largest plantation forestry production area. As part of the feasibility study, it will investigate using plantation forestry residue, like harvest trimmings or damaged timber to produce green methanol.
Portland is also home to a deep-water port which sees 300 vessels and approximately five million tonnes of forestry product loaded each year.
