Murchison Green Hydrogen (Murchison) is one of the most advanced gigawatt-scale power-to-ammonia projects globally, and will be powered by 100% renewable energy. The Project is an exceptional opportunity to catalyse Australia’s green hydrogen sector.

Located approximately 15 kilometres north of Kalbarri, in Western Australia’s Mid-west region, Murchison combines a world class renewable energy resource with the efficiencies of a large-scale development. At ultimate capacity, the Project will produce approximately 1.8 million tonnes of green ammonia per year, for export to Australia’s strategic trading partners South Korea and Japan.

Murchison adopted a fully integrated island-mode project model and features a green hydrogen and ammonia manufacturing plant that is supported by:

• 6 GW of new onshore wind and solar energy generation
• BESS and storage facilities (hydrogen and ammonia)
• on-site desalination plant and marine export facility.

This development is proving a scalable and transferable project model that will advance local industry development across the complete green hydrogen value chain. The Project’s integrated nature and scale will also build local supplier capability and skills in time for WA’s growing onshore renewables pipeline.

In November 2023, Murchison and its principal investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) Hydrogen Headstart Program, which co-funds large-scale hydrogen production projects to accelerate development of the local industry. In December 2023, Murchison became one of six shortlisted projects, selected from a competitive field of EOIs. In June 2024, Murchison submitted to ARENA its Full Application for the funding contribution by the federal government.

IAG supported Murchison and CIP with the strategic development and preparation of both the EOI and Full Application. Throughout development of these submissions, IAG’s team closely engaged with the client’s leadership and effectively worked with the local project team, the wider Australian corporate team, and CIP’s international experts.

IAG’s multi-disciplinary team was responsible for:

• shaping strategic positioning and narrative of the EOI and the Full Application in line with CIP’s priorities and global vision for its hydrogen portfolio
• developing EOI and Full Application content for various workstreams including technical, governance, company experience, land tenure, approvals, and knowledge sharing
• supporting Project leads with Full Application content development across all other workstreams and submission elements
• supporting Murchison’s interactive engagement with ARENA during the Full Application process
• project managing the EOI and Full Application development, and the final preparation of documents for submission.

IAG’s team also drew on their diverse experience working for the federal and state governments, and a range of mega infrastructure projects, for insights into key government priorities, policy drivers and local Australian context.

The high-calibre EOI presented a compelling case for Murchison to be invited to submit a Full Application, and received complementary feedback from ARENA.

The Full Application comprehensively demonstrates the maturity of this green power-to-ammonia project and the wide-ranging benefits the federal government could realise for Australia by awarding funding contributions to Murchison.

IAG received positive feedback for its:

• highly professional, responsive and committed approach
• ability to proactively engage with and meet the needs of the client and numerous internal stakeholders
• strategic contributions that strengthened the quality of the submissions.