New Zealand-based fuel infrastructure company Channel Infrastructure on Wednesday said it will conduct a pre-feasibility study on its proposed green hydrogen production facility that could help make about 15.8 million gal/year of synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (or eSAF).

Joining Channel on the project is green hydrogen producer Fortescue Future Industries, a division of Fortescue Metals Group, which is based in Perth, West Australia. The two companies have worked together on the project since 2021.

"This project would position FFI as a first mover in the eSAF market, which we believe is a valuable global market," Mark Hutchinson, FFI's chief executive officer, said in a news release Wednesday. "For New Zealand, domestic eSAF production would provide a greater degree of fuel security and support development of the local green hydrogen industry."

The facility would be located near Channel's headquarters in Marsden Point, Northland, about 90 miles north of Auckland, the companies said, adding that the project's potential production capacity would amount to 3% of New Zealand's annual jet fuel demand prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The companies said the eSAF would be blended with imported jet fuel at Marsden Point and sent to Auckland Airport using Channel's existing pipeline, with national flag carrier Air New Zealand targeted as "the foundation customer" for the project's output.

New Zealand's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority will foot a portion of the bill for the project's pre-feasibility stage, but Channel and FFI did not disclose the size of the government's financial support.


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-- Reporting by Aaron Alford, aalford@opisnet.com; Editing by Jordan Godwin, jgodwin@opisnet.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-05-23 1740ET