Zen Energy merges with Japanese subsidiary on green hydrogen path – pv Australia magazine

May 30, 2024 Ew Foley

Adelaide-based Zen Energy and DGA Energy Solutions Australia, a 100% subsidiary of Mitsubishi, have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand their existing renewable energy and renewable hydrogen supply partnership into new sustainable value chains.

DGA was founded in 2023 and is responsible for the development and investment in Mitsubishi’s renewable energy, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects in the Oceania region.

DGA managing director Kentaro Matsumura said the company aims to become the leading supplier of green hydrogen in the region.

“We will start with local production first to meet the needs of businesses in Australia and then move on to exporting hydrogen-based products from Australia to Asia,” he said.

“Collaborating with Zen, a pioneer in the energy transition that already supplies a group of platinum customers with a scalable renewable energy generation platform, will enable us to move closer to our goals.”

DGA’s partnership with Zen is the company’s latest development in Australia’s emerging green hydrogen market. Late last year, DGA signed a letter of understanding with Countrywide Hydrogen to jointly conduct and finance research as part of the Portland Green Hydrogen project in Victoria.

Earlier this month, it entered into a preliminary agreement with Adelaide-based technology company Entx to acquire a 49% stake in the Limestone Coast Hydrogen Project (LCH2 project) in South Australia.

The plant will produce green hydrogen for use at the nearby production plant of tissue manufacturer Kimberly-Clark Australia. The first phase is expected to produce 3.65 tonnes of green hydrogen per day, which will be blended with 20% natural gas for use at the plant. Stage 2 production will be increased to around 4.5 tonnes per day, with the aim of fully switching to green hydrogen by 2029.

Entx said it is currently finalizing a feasibility assessment and, subject to approval and a final investment decision, first hydrogen production is planned for 2027.

Zen CEO Anthony Garnaut said the company’s partnership with DGA would accelerate Australia’s journey to becoming a renewable energy superpower.

“Australia is currently a leading supplier of energy and minerals to Japan. “If we are to maintain this position in 2050, we must create new, sustainable ways of producing versions of the products we currently sell to Japan,” he said.

“We can’t do this alone. It requires partnerships with organizations like DGA and Mitsubishi that share our vision and are willing to put in the necessary effort and leverage their networks to help create new value chains.

a number of Zen assets, including the development of the Templers Battery project approximately 60 kilometers north of Adelaide, the addition of a second battery energy storage system to its 200-megawatt Solar River solar farm in South Australia, and future projects in western Sydney and southeast Queensland. Zen hopes to achieve financial closure of the Solar River project within the next 12 months.

Zen, founded in 2004, has offtake agreements for renewable energy projects in four states and counts the South Australian Government and CSIRO facilities in New South Wales among its clients. It is also developing its own renewable energy projects, including the 111 MW/240 MWh Templers battery energy storage project, located approximately 60 kilometers north of Adelaide.

It is also pursuing plans to develop the Solar River project in South Australia, which would include more than 200 MW of solar power and at least 300 MWh of energy storage capacity, and the Western Sydney Pumped Hydro project in New South Wales, which would be able to produce 1 GW of power on demand for up to eight hours.