❓ The Minister for Water outlines the benefits of the Water Corporation's partnership with Hazer Group to produce renewable hydrogen and graphite from wastewater, highlighting its potential for revenue generation, decarbonisation, and economic growth in Western Australia.
AnsweredQoN 400Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN RENEWABLE HYDROGEN STRATEGY
400. Mrs L.M. O'MALLEY to the Minister for Water:
I
refer to the McGowan government's efforts to support and grow Western Australia's
hydrogen industry, especially as the
economy starts to recover from COVID-19. Can the minister outline to the house
how the nation-leading project announced yesterday to produce renewable
hydrogen and graphite from wastewater will benefit Water Corporation and its
operations?
400. Mrs L.M. O'MALLEY to the Minister for Water:
I
refer to the McGowan government's efforts to support and grow Western Australia's
hydrogen industry, especially as the
economy starts to recover from COVID-19. Can the minister outline to the house
how the nation-leading project announced yesterday to produce renewable
hydrogen and graphite from wastewater will benefit Water Corporation and its
operations?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for Bicton for this question and I thank her for her interest
in this really exciting project. This week we announced an agreement
between Water Corporation and Hazer Group to build a facility at the Water
Corporation's Woodman Point wastewater treatment plant. That plant will
use Australian-first technology to produce low-emission hydrogen and graphite
from wastewater. Some people will already be aware that the Water Corporation
already collects biogas, a by-product of treated wastewater, at a number of its
wastewater treatment plants. It takes the biogas and instead of venting it into
the atmosphere as a very dangerous greenhouse gas, the Water Corporation burns
it and produces electricity, which then reduces its emissions and runs the
wastewater treatment plants.
This technology takes biogas and
processes it instead of just burning it. The products that come out of that
process are hydrogen and graphite. Of
course, hydrogen is a very valuable fuel and there are lots of opportunities in
emerging economies for hydrogen as a fuel.
Graphite is also a very valuable product for the production of lithium-ion
batteries , water purification and a lot of other industrial
applications. I congratulate the Water Corporation and Hazer Group on this
project. The technology was developed here in Western Australia and comes out
of PhD research at the University of Western
Australia. That research resulted in Hazer Group being formed. It is a company
based here in Western Australia and
it is now listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. This plant is the pilot
plant for proving the concept—a commercial demonstration plant
that is not as large as it would need to be to be fully commercial, but when
fully operational will produce 100 tonnes of clean, low-emission hydrogen per
year, and approximately 380 tonnes of high-purity graphite.
It
is a great technology for the Water Corporation to promote. It gives the Water
Corporation a revenue stream for its excess
biogas and it also takes it further along its journey to decarbonise its operations.
It builds on the announcement we made
earlier this year about a $30 million solar panel project, which the Water
Corporation is already implementing, to power more of its operation
through renewable energy. I congratulate the Hazer Group, which is a great Western
Australian company, for producing great research and delivering this
technology. I also congratulate the Water Corporation
for the innovation it is using in a range of areas to deal with climate change
and to decarbonise its operations. I had great pleasure in opening the
Water Corporation's innovation hub in 2018. It is basically a facility
that people can tap into to obtain as much wastewater—raw sewage—as
they want to see what businesses they can develop from that wastewater. The
member for Hillarys may know that wastewater is pretty smelly at times, but it
is a valuable resource. I congratulate the Water Corporation and the Hazer
Group for turning wastewater into a valuable new industry here in WA.
thank the member for Bicton for this question and I thank her for her interest
in this really exciting project. This week we announced an agreement
between Water Corporation and Hazer Group to build a facility at the Water
Corporation's Woodman Point wastewater treatment plant. That plant will
use Australian-first technology to produce low-emission hydrogen and graphite
from wastewater. Some people will already be aware that the Water Corporation
already collects biogas, a by-product of treated wastewater, at a number of its
wastewater treatment plants. It takes the biogas and instead of venting it into
the atmosphere as a very dangerous greenhouse gas, the Water Corporation burns
it and produces electricity, which then reduces its emissions and runs the
wastewater treatment plants.
This technology takes biogas and
processes it instead of just burning it. The products that come out of that
process are hydrogen and graphite. Of
course, hydrogen is a very valuable fuel and there are lots of opportunities in
emerging economies for hydrogen as a fuel.
Graphite is also a very valuable product for the production of lithium-ion
batteries , water purification and a lot of other industrial
applications. I congratulate the Water Corporation and Hazer Group on this
project. The technology was developed here in Western Australia and comes out
of PhD research at the University of Western
Australia. That research resulted in Hazer Group being formed. It is a company
based here in Western Australia and
it is now listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. This plant is the pilot
plant for proving the concept—a commercial demonstration plant
that is not as large as it would need to be to be fully commercial, but when
fully operational will produce 100 tonnes of clean, low-emission hydrogen per
year, and approximately 380 tonnes of high-purity graphite.
It
is a great technology for the Water Corporation to promote. It gives the Water
Corporation a revenue stream for its excess
biogas and it also takes it further along its journey to decarbonise its operations.
It builds on the announcement we made
earlier this year about a $30 million solar panel project, which the Water
Corporation is already implementing, to power more of its operation
through renewable energy. I congratulate the Hazer Group, which is a great Western
Australian company, for producing great research and delivering this
technology. I also congratulate the Water Corporation
for the innovation it is using in a range of areas to deal with climate change
and to decarbonise its operations. I had great pleasure in opening the
Water Corporation's innovation hub in 2018. It is basically a facility
that people can tap into to obtain as much wastewater—raw sewage—as
they want to see what businesses they can develop from that wastewater. The
member for Hillarys may know that wastewater is pretty smelly at times, but it
is a valuable resource. I congratulate the Water Corporation and the Hazer
Group for turning wastewater into a valuable new industry here in WA.
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