FFI to examine turning Washington coal mine into hydrogen plant

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), the green energy business of Australian iron ore company Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG), said today it will study turning the former Centralia coal mine in Washington state into a green hydrogen plant.

FFI has signed an exclusivity agreement with the Industrial Park at TransAlta (IPAT) and if the feasibility studies are successful it would look to employ workers from the Centralia coal-fired power plant adjacent to the IPAT project site that is due to close in 2025.

IPAT was created to redevelop the site and attract investment, explained Richard DeBolt, executive director of the Lewis Economic Alliance.

FFI’s proposal would support the development of a Pacific Northwest green hydrogen hub. The company said it would apply for a grant under the US Department of Energy Hydrogen Hub Programme in partnership with Pacific Northwest stakeholders, including Puget Sound Energy, Washington Maritime Blue, Twin Transit and the Lewis County Energy Innovation Coalition.

“Together with other Pacific Northwest stakeholders, we plan to utilise legacy fossil fuel infrastructure and workforce to produce green hydrogen and pursue a growing zero carbon economy in Lewis County and the Pacific Northwest region,” said Paul Browning, chief executive of FFI North America.

According to FFI chairman and founder Andrew Forrest, “[r]epurposing existing fossil fuel infrastructure to create green hydrogen to power the world is part of the solution to saving the planet.”

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