Fortescue Ltd, an Australian metal mining and green energy company has formally established a production plant in Gladstone, Queensland, with the capacity to produce over 2 GW of electrolyser stacks annually.
This is one of the first factories in the world to produce Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser stacks with an automated assembly line. The plant will manufacture electrolysers that Fortescue teams in the US and Australia created internally.
The 15,000 square meter (161,500 square foot) plant was established as the initial phase of Fortescue’s Green Energy Manufacturing Centre (GEM) in Gladstone. The GEM is a hub for green manufacturing that will also house Fortescue’s PEM50 green hydrogen project and a laboratory for testing hydrogen systems. In the latter, Fortescue’s proprietary electrolyser technology will be showcased. At the end of 2021, Fortescue obtained planning approval for the PEM factory, and in February of 2022, construction work began. The Australian federal government provided $29 million in funding for the project.
In 2022, Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and Windlab Pty Ltd in Australia earned forces to build a renewable energy “super hub” in Queensland with more than 10 GW of wind and solar power capacity to enable industrial-scale green hydrogen manufacturing. The state government unveiled the ambitious project, known as the North Queensland Super Hub, alongside the green energy division of iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. and Windlab Pty Ltd, a portfolio firm of Asia-Pacific investor Federation Asset Management.
REGlobal’s Views: Fortescue is planning various green hydrogen projects across the world, not just in Australia but also in countries like Azerbaijan, the United States, India, Germany and other markets. Setting up a large electolyser factory will help the company in expanding its green hydrogen value chain offerings as well as support its own plans in the space.
