ATCO and BOC Linde win $593m SA hydrogen job, Forrest misses out
Global giants ATCO and BOC Linde were named preferred contractors to build a $593 million hydrogen plant and storage facility near Whyalla in South Australia, just 6km from billionaire Sanjeev Gupta’s Whyalla steelworks.
The two foreign players which represent a larger consortium were chosen from a field of 29 proposals for the plant to be owned by SA taxpayers and operating by early 2026. Billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries was among the groups which missed out.
Canadian giant ATCO has a large Australian business, while European industrial gas and engineering group BOC Linde is part of the $US179 billion ($283 billion) Linde Group. They are the preferred contractors to build a 250-megawatt hydrogen production facility, 200-megawatt hydrogen power plant and a hydrogen storage facility.
The new SA Government-owned hydrogen plant and storage facility to be built in a $593m project by ATCO and BOC Linde is located just 6km from Sanjeev Gupta’s Whyalla steelworks. (pictured) Ben Searcy
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said the abundant sunshine and wind at the site, which is on land owned by the Whyalla council, meant the state would be able to produce hydrogen inexpensively.
“We can produce it here in South Australia cheaper than anywhere else in the world if we play our cards right,” he said on Sunday.
He also said the $593 million budget for the project “remains unchanged” even though it was set almost 18 months ago, before steep rises in inflation which have caused cost overruns at many large infrastructure projects around the world.
Asked about the prospect of commercial agreements for the GFG Alliance-owned Whyalla steelworks to become a customer of the hydrogen plant once it is operating, Mr
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