The world’s leading producer of carbon-neutral synthetic fuel – made from just air (carbon dioxide) and water (hydrogen) – has taken another step towards a commercial-scale synthetic fuel plant being considered for Whyalla.
Zero Petroleum has announced a feasibility study partnership with the South Australian Government, Adelaide Airport and Qantas to develop a first-of-a-kind facility to be known as Plant Zero.SA.
The company has identified Whyalla as “an ideal location to power Zero’s carbon-neutral process”.
Former McLaren Racing Technical Director and now CEO of Zero Petroleum, Paddy Lowe (pictured with SA Premier, Peter Malinauskas, below), visited Whyalla with his team to view several locations and learn more about the state’s Hydrogen Jobs Plan (HJP) project from Council and State Government representatives.
Mr Lowe said South Australia was one of the most promising sites for Zero’s future commercial-scale plant.
“We are working closely with South Australia to bring our fossil-free vision to life, and this visit has further reinforced the scale of opportunities in the region,” Mr Lowe said.
“The Government of South Australia has transformed the region into a global hub of renewable solar and wind power development, and its transition to a thriving green hydrogen economy is a genuinely exciting prospect for us.”
Although the project is still a long way from becoming a reality, Whyalla City Council Mayor, Phill Stone welcomed the progress.
“Zero Petroleum is an example of the cutting-edge industries that are interested in Whyalla as a result of the State Government’s investment in hydrogen, which gives us continued optimism for the city’s future,” Mayor Stone said.
“Regardless of whether this particular prospect ends up in Whyalla, it demonstrates that the eyes of the world are squarely focused on Whyalla and realising the major potential for our green energy future.
“The more we can attract new industries such as this to our city, the more diverse our economy will be, reducing our predominant reliance on steel manufacturing and minimising the impact of downturns like the one we currently face.
“We understand there’ll always be pessimists who ‘won’t believe it until they see it’, but we can’t let scepticism get in the way of pursuing potential opportunities and our net zero ambitions.”
