Australia’s leading independent law firm, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has advised Orica Limited (Orica) in relation to the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub (HVHH), a commercial-scale renewable hydrogen production facility integrated with its existing ammonia manufacturing facility at Kooragang Island in New South Wales.
The HVHH will produce renewable hydrogen to directly replace natural gas feedstock in Orica’s manufacture of lower-carbon ammonia and ammonium nitrate. These products are critical for many industries across New South Wales and Australia, including mining, agriculture, health and food.
The HVHH will produce hydrogen via electrolysis using recycled water and grid-connected electricity, supported through renewable energy sourcing including Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) and Renewable Electricity Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificates.
The Corrs team was led by corporate partner Ben Macdonald, with support from partners Simon Huxley, James Abbott, David Ellenby and Luke Imbriano and a multidisciplinary team across the firm’s corporate, real estate, banking and finance, employment, labour and safety, energy and natural resources, tax, projects and technology, media and telecommunications practices.
Lead partner Ben Macdonald said: “We are pleased to have advised Orica on this first-of-its-kind project that will decarbonise one of Australia’s largest industrial ammonia facilities and support Orica in its ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
“The project demonstrates Corrs’ as a trusted advisor on complex matters within Australia’s energy transition sector.”