(Reuters) – Trafigura has abandoned plans to build an A$750 million ($471.2 million) green hydrogen plant at its Port Pirie lead smelter in South Australia, a spokesperson for the global commodity trading firm said on Tuesday.
The Geneva-based firm had announced plans for the plant in 2021, to lower its carbon emissions, and a design study was commissioned, jointly funded by Trafigura and the South Australian state government.
“In 2023, Trafigura completed an A$5 million feasibility study into a green hydrogen project at Port Pirie. Following completion of the study, the decision was taken not to proceed further,” the spokesperson said in an email to Reuters, without disclosing details.
The decision to scrap the project had not been disclosed by Trafigura or the government. The South Australian Government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2019, the commodity trader had established an internal fund to invest in alternative and renewable energy technologies.
Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water molecules with a current of renewable electricity in electrolysers and is touted as a clean replacement for fossil fuels in industries that are otherwise hard to decarbonise. ($1 = 1.5918 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru, Additional reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
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