In November 2021 Hexagon and FRV Australia collaborated as consortium partners on an AusIndustry grant application in relation to a Middle Arm, Darwin, Hydrogen Hub Feasibility Study.  The application was made under the “Activating a Regional Hydrogen Industry – Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hubs: Hub Development and Design program” and led to this MoU and further collaborations.

Both Hexagon and FRV Australia are already progressing individual clean hydrogen and renewable energy projects at or near Middle Arm, Darwin, each of which are fully funded in terms of pre-feasibility studies. FRV Australia has also secured funding for further studies and the construction stage for its hydrogen and renewable energy project.

Hexagon is currently in the final stages of a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) on its Northern Territory (NT) Hydrogen project (formally called Pedirka Project).  The PFS is scheduled for completion by 28 February 2022 (HXG ASX Announcement: 22 December 2021). The PFS centres on decarbonised (zero net carbon emission) ammonia production (as a hydrogen carrier), through hydrocarbon-based hydrogen production with CCS.  The project is targeting production of up to 1.6 million tonnes per annum (t.p.a.) of ammonia or 300,000 t.p.a. hydrogen equivalent. The Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct at the Port of Darwin is expected to have  a number of critical clean hydrogen project and hub components such as access to established, large scale CO₂ geo-sequestration infrastructure and reservoirs (Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)) and port (export) infrastructure.

Collaboration between FRV Australia and Hexagon under the MoU announced today could provide Hexagon access to FRV Australia’s mix of renewable energy products to supply the power required for Hexagon’s proposed hydrogen (clean Ammonia) production plant.  This would see less CO₂ generated from Hexagon’s blue hydrogen production facilities, requiring less CCS, therefore lowering overall production costs for Hexagon’s projects.

FRV Australia is indirectly owned 51% by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures S.L. (FRV) and 49% by OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans.

Globally, FRV and its affiliated companies have installed 2GW of renewable energy generation with another 560MW under construction, with several green hydrogen projects constructed and in operation abroad, ranging from <1MW to 20MW in size.

FRV Australia has successfully developed nine solar farms in Australia that are currently producing a combined total of [781MW] of electricity sold into the National Electricity Market (NEM) and is currently developing additional projects within the Northern Territory including its 29MW Berrimah Solar Farm where installation of an electrolyser is under assessment. FRV Australia’s team includes green hydrogen plant design and equipment supply specialists, solar engineer professionals, construction and project management professionals and commercial analysts as well as a dedicated asset management team.

The next steps will be to identify and scope specific hydrogen projects to potentially move to conditional Heads of Agreement and onto binding commercial agreements.

Hexagon is a future energy materials company focussed on the clean energy transition of which hydrogen is a cornerstone.  In addition to the NT Hydrogen and WA Hydrogen projects Hexagon holds highly prospective assets including the McIntosh Nickel-Copper, PGE Graphite Project and the Halls Creek Gold and Base Metals Project.

The Company’s vision for its Australian hydrogen business is to deliver clean hydrogen in the most economical form into export and domestic markets at scale over the coming four years. This non-binding MoU with FRV has the potential to deliver large quantities of low-cost renewable energy for use in hydrogen production supporting delivery into this vision.

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Fotowatio Renewable Ventures Australia along with other organisers of a ‘Hands on Trades Day’ for North East Victoria will proceed with plans to promote career pathways for students and build a skilled, innovative and local workforce in the region thanks to a Community Grant from the Winton Solar Farm.

This annual event aims to support high school students from Benalla, Mansfield and Wangaratta Shires to consider existing and new trades – including solar engineering and management, an industry that has seen recent growth with several new solar farms in the area. Local students completing Structured Workplace Learning placements form part of the event organising committee and hospitality teams and are involved in co-designing the event.

This year’s Hands on Trades career expo will go ahead on Thursday 5 May. Local students are encouraged to register to attend. Four other community groups were recently awarded a share of the Solar Farm’s second annual $35,000 Community Grant Program.

Winners of this year’s Winton Community Grants and funded projects are:

• Benalla Hockey Club to fund new portable shade gazebos of tournaments.
• Winton Primary School sustainable outdoor kitchen garden.
• Benalla Sustainable Future Group to install new solar panels at Bernard Briggs Pre-school.
• NE Tracks for their ACRE youth entrepreneurship program and annual secondary school student ‘Hands On Trades Day’ careers event.
• Glenrowan Primary School to upgrade their school cooking learning classroom.

I am thrilled to see another round of strong applications and initiatives come through the Community Grants Fund. The Winton, Benalla and surrounding areas are home to some creative thinkers, and we are excited to see another round of innovative projects come through. These community grants are an opportunity to kick start some exciting projects, and deliver meaningful investment for the local community.

Winton Solar Farm 85MW is approaching its first full year of operations following completion of construction earlier in 2021. Output from the solar farm to date has been impressive. It is expected to generate around 210,000 MWh/Year – enough clean energy for 52,000 homes.

In a further development, Winton Solar Farm has also reached mutual agreement with a project neighbour to introduce sheep to the solar site. Just under 600 are currently grazing the site, helping to maintain grass levels around the solar farm and avoiding use of mechanical and chemical weed management.

Near neighbour, Tony Mort, stated: “The initiative is a practical and sustainable use of the project site. It’s great to see the Winton Solar Farm thinking about how they can work with nearby neighbours to share their land, I’m happy I can contribute to a greater understanding of how agriculture can work in sync with solar farms – it’s a sensible way to approach land use and I hope we see more of this in the future”.

To date, Winton Solar Farm has provided $120,000 to the local community. This includes a major partnership with the Regent Honeyeater Project to plant an additional eleven hectares of native vegetation and improve critical biodiversity corridors in the region. Community Grants will be open for applications again in late 2022.

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FRV has completed detailed assessments of possible impacts on near neighbours such as glare and stormwater runoff during planning for the project. We are also engaging with neighbours to share information about construction as it progresses and manage any impacts wherever possible.

What about the local environment?

The endangered Regent Honeyeater is known to be present in the area. A Vegetation Protection Overlay applies onsite to protect the habitat for this species. We will preserve large remnants of native trees on the site, retain important nesting trees and avoid plantings completed by the Regent Honeyeater Project team to preserve habitat for this important species. Construction and operation of the Winton Solar Farm will have little impact on surrounding waterways.

FRV will also work in partnership with the Regent Honeyeater Project team to fund and plant more habitat corridors within the region.

Community Value

Construction of the Winton Solar Farm will bring considerable investment to the region. The solar farm will also create a new, sustainable industry that will complement the existing agricultural industry. We are keen for local business to be involved in providing a range of services such as electrical work, earthworks, transport, materials, fencing and hospitality during Winton Solar Farm’s construction and operation stages.  We will also look to provide training to local workers – especially younger workers – to ensure specialist skills developed in the course of the project’s construction stay in the area.

How can I get involved?

We are regularly in contact with residents and stakeholders. To register your interest in the project, please send us an email via the contact us page.

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