Major Australian Green Hydrogen Project Scrapped Due to Lack of Offtakers

Provaris has officially scrapped its Tiwi Hydrogen Project on the Tiwi Islands, Australia, a giant export-oriented green hydrogen initiative with a proposed 2.4GW solar farm and 90,000 tonnes/year hydrogen production capacity. The project, aimed at exporting to Asia, was cancelled due to failure to secure offtake agreements and a lack of meaningful engagement from potential buyers, particularly in Singapore. This cancellation follows other Australian setbacks, such as the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project (CQ-H2), valued at $14 billion, which was also scrapped after Stanwell withdrew support. These developments reflect broader challenges in Australia’s green hydrogen ambitions, with 99% of announced project capacity failing to progress beyond the concept stage, according to Rystad Energy.

Key Takeaway: The failure to secure offtakers highlights the critical need for market demand and long-term purchase agreements to make large-scale green hydrogen projects viable, especially for export markets.

Relevance: This story directly relates to the Western Green Energy Hub and Australian government policies, involving emerging companies like Provaris, and underscores the importance of investment mechanisms like government-backed loans and risk-sharing agreements to mitigate market risks.

Sources:

• Hydrogen Insight
• RenewEconomy
• ABC News