50 MW electrolyzer supply order
Plug Power will supply 50 MW of electrolyzers for Orica’s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Plug announced on Jul 7, 2026 that the project had reached final investment decision and would use its GenEco proton exchange membrane systems.
The planned facility beside Orica’s Kooragang Island ammonia plant is expected to produce approximately 4,700 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually, displacing around 7.5% of the site’s natural gas consumption. Renewable electricity will power electrolysis.
Plug chief executive José Luis Crespo called the hub Australia’s largest renewable hydrogen project to reach this investment stage and the first Hydrogen Headstart recipient to progress to execution. Orica Group President – AusPac and Sustainability Germán Morales linked the investment to manufacturing competitiveness.
Plug reported more than 320 MW of GenEco systems deployed across six continents. Its Australian projects also included installations in Townsville and Chinchilla, Queensland.
Conditional production funding
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency announced support of up to A$432 million on Jul 4, 2025. Orica became the second funding recipient under Hydrogen Headstart. The agency said the project would supply lower-carbon ammonia and ammonium nitrate for domestic mining, agriculture and industrial customers.
Payments under the program depend on actual hydrogen production volumes over a ten-year operating period. Before funding is released, Orica must:
- Satisfy the funding conditions.
- Demonstrate that it can meet contractual milestones.
ARENA chief executive Darren Miller described renewable hydrogen as a decarbonisation option for heavy industry where electrification is unavailable or alternatives are limited. Orica chief executive Sanjeev Gandhi said the company had operated its Kooragang Island site for more than fifty years.
The earlier Headstart award allocated A$814 million to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ planned 1,500 MW Murchison Green Hydrogen Project in Western Australia. ARENA said the two announcements concluded the program’s first funding round.
Earlier emissions reduction work
Orica’s Kooragang Island site had already introduced tertiary catalyst abatement at three nitric acid plants. On Sep 8, 2023, the company reported 250,000 tonnes of avoided carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions between November 2022 and August 2023, equivalent to 20% of the facility’s total greenhouse gas emissions for that period.
The company reported a reduction exceeding 95% in nitrous oxide emissions per tonne of nitric acid against 2019 levels. The New South Wales government co-invested A$13.06 million, alongside A$25 million from Orica financed by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Morales estimated annual avoided emissions of 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from the abatement technology.
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