Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), through its CI Energy Transition Fund I (ETF I), has secured A$814 million (approximately $515.5 million) for its Murchison Green Hydrogen project in Western Australia from the Australian Government’s Hydrogen Headstart program.
According to CIP, the Murchison Green Hydrogen project is one of the “world’s largest and most advanced” commercial-scale green hydrogen and ammonia initiatives.
Located 20 kilometers (km) north of Kalbarri in the Mid-West region and powered by 6 GW of onshore wind and solar generation, it is set to produce around 1.8 million tonnes of green ammonia annually, primarily for export to Asian markets. As informed, the project uses Power-to-X technology and a final investment decision (FID) is expected in 2025.
Karsten Uhd Plauborg, Partner at CIP, commented: “CIP is honoured to receive this funding, which reinforces our shared vision with the Australian Government to establish a leading green hydrogen industry in Australia. We see significant potential in green hydrogen and projects such as Murchison Green Hydrogen are key for countries and industries to take the next step within decarbonisation and achieving energy independence. We look forward to continuing to work with government, the Nanda People and community to progress the project and deliver value for the region.”
Shohan Seneviratne, CEO of Murchison Green Hydrogen, stated: “We are committed to contributing to Australia’s green hydrogen ambitions by creating local jobs, supporting skills development and sharing project benefits with local communities, including First Nations. We appreciate the support from the Australian Government, Minister Bowen, and ARENA and commend their leadership, vision and collaboration to make this project and the Australian hydrogen industry a reality.”
To note, CIP focuses on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy and Power-to-X. It, reportedly, has projects in more than 30 countries.
In 2025, the Dutch Zeevonk offshore wind-to-hydrogen project, being developed by CIP and Sweden’s Vattenfall, has moved to the next phase with the front-end engineering design (FEED) work assigned to the UK-based company Wood. Furthermore, CIP and German Friesen Elektra Green Energy initiated project Anker, a green hydrogen production facility in Sande, Northern Germany.