Hazer Group Ltd (ASX:HZR) has commissioned engineering studies for a small demonstration plant and a commercial plant aimed at building a business case for the Hazer low-emission hydrogen and graphite production process.
GLP Group Pty Ltd has been engaged to progress Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for the demonstration plant together with a concept engineering study for the larger plant.
Hazer Group acting CEO Mark Edwards said: “Together with our internal team of technical specialists, the outcome of this study is to build a more compelling business case for a Hazer commercial plant.”
He said another aim was to “provide independent commercial data to allow us to better evaluate Hazer’s potential for hydrogen and graphite production in both local and global markets”.
Single run graphite produced from the Hazer process.
GLP is an Australian owned and operated engineering services company.
It provides innovative processing design and technologies to the petrochemical, oil & gas, refining, mining and waste treatment industries in Australia and around the world.
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The FEED study will deliver a cost estimate for construction of a demonstration plant, allowing for installation options to be considered.
This plant will target daily production capacity of about 100 kilograms of high-purity hydrogen, which was determined as a suitable size for a small localised hydrogen vehicle supply project.
It equates to around 500 kilograms per day of combined hydrogen and graphite nameplate capacity.
Plant will utilise Hazer process
The demonstration plant will utilise the Hazer process as a fully integrated, continuously operating technology, at practicable scale, with proven capability to supply a final product to market.
It will also establish the technology application prototype for the design and construction of future commercial facilities.
Edwards said: “Hazer has aspirations to develop a project in Perth to supply local buyers of hydrogen, but also the demonstration plant aims to showcase the Hazer process to the world.”
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The concept engineering study for a commercial plant will leverage off the work done in the FEED study.
A commercial plant will target annual production capacity of around 2,500 tonnes of high-purity hydrogen, that could be used for application in the hydrogen vehicle industry as an example.
This equates to around 12,500 tonnes of combined hydrogen and graphite product nameplate capacity.
Study will generate economic data
The concept study will generate preliminary capital and operating expenditure data.
This will allow for the development of project economics data and development of a business case for future commercial facilities for the Hazer process as a fully integrated, standalone, commercial-scale plant.
Both studies are scheduled to be completed around the middle of the December quarter of 2018.
Hazer will utilise the data and outcomes to evaluate and progress opportunities for the ongoing design and construction of a demonstration plant capable of supplying final product to market.
Additionally, commercial-scale study data and outcomes will be incorporated to further develop commercial opportunities and establish cost points for the intended commercial products of hydrogen and graphite.
“This will be a milestone study by an independent group to provide some robust economic data to set us on a solid foundation for the commercialisation of the Hazer process,” Edwards added.
There has been no decision made to proceed with construction of either plant pending outcome of the studies.