FMG - Fortescue Ltd

[basilio]

This announcement put a rocket under Sparc earlier this month. It is clearly good news for FMG as well.

Good details on the value of this process in the announcement.



ASX ANNOUNCEMENT
7 January 2025
Sparc, Fortescue and University of Adelaide Commit to Stage 2 Pilot Plant
HIGHLIGHTS
• Sparc Technologies, Fortescue and University of Adelaide formally commit to proceed to Stage 2 of the Sparc Hydrogen joint venture

• Novel reactor technology employs a photocatalyst material and sunlight to produce green hydrogen directly from water without electrolysers

• Stage 2 is focused on construction and testing a first-of-its-kind pilot plant supporting ongoing reactor development and scale-up

• Front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the pilot plant is complete and construction is expected to commence early in 2025

Sparc Technologies Limited (ASX: SPN) (Sparc, Sparc Technologies or the Company) is pleased to announce that Sparc Technologies, Fortescue Limited (ASX:FMG) (Fortescue) and the University of Adelaide (UoA) will proceed to Stage 2 of the Sparc Hydrogen joint venture. The decision to proceed to Stage 2 reflects several key milestones achieved over recent months and is a strong endorsement of the potential of Sparc Hydrogen’s novel technology to unlock low-cost green hydrogen via photocatalytic water splitting (PWS).

Stage 2 activities are focused on pilot plant construction and reactor testing along with ongoing laboratory testing of PWS reactors under a range of conditions. Sparc Hydrogen believes that the pilot plant will represent a globally leading facility for R&D and commercialisation of PWS reinforcing Sparc Hydrogen’s first mover position in this emerging direct solar to hydrogen technology.

Sparc Hydrogen Proceeds to Stage 2 Pilot Plant (PDF 585.2 KB)

 

[TimeISmoney]

That's temping to pull your money out and run before things turn to poop.

 

[dyna]

But ....all those buyers , ......2,085 of 'em . Twice the pessimists !
They're must be pretty keen . They're not just lookers , like me .
Some would be .....( ahem ) , straight up gamblers . But some of them would have to be at least , a wee bit smart .

 

[basilio]

Found another story expanding on the Hydrogen Sparc technology project. Adds a bit more to the story.

IF. (big one) the pilot plant proves successful then there could well be a much larger move to a commercial size plant. The cost for FMG to date has been peanuts. ($ 1.5m)

Fortescue-backed concentrated solar hydrogen tech graduates to pilot phase​

..Sparc’s stock improvement likely comes from positive timeline announcements, including that the Stage 2 development is progressing with front-end engineering design (FEED) and site planning approvals are expected by the end of the month.

The big challenge right now is the efficiency of that photocatalyst material,” University of Adelaide’s Professor Gregory Metha said. He explained that the photocatalyst in the pilot plant need only be half as efficient as a competing photovoltaic system (20-25%) since the plant will not have the capex of the electrolyser, nor the cost of the electricity.

“We need to demonstrate what the plant is going to look like, so that’s where our work is focusing,” Metha said. “Our commercialisation manager here at the university likens it to us designing a car that is agnostic to the fuel.”

.... Equipment procurement is already underway and the pilot plant is anticipated to finish construction by mid-2025. The finished plant will test PWS via semi-continuous operation of an ‘on-sun’ plant using concentrated solar mirrors, advancing the reactor technology readiness level (TRL) from 5 to at least 6.

Fortescue-backed concentrated solar hydrogen tech graduates to pilot phase

Resources giant Fortescue has committed to the next phase of advancing a novel green hydrogen technology that uses only sunlight, water and a photocatalyst.

reneweconomy.com.au

 

[farmerge]

Found another story expanding on the Hydrogen Sparc technology project. Adds a bit more to the story.

IF. (big one) the pilot plant proves successful then there could well be a much larger move to a commercial size plant. The cost for FMG to date has been peanuts. ($ 1.5m)

Fortescue-backed concentrated solar hydrogen tech graduates to pilot phase​

..Sparc’s stock improvement likely comes from positive timeline announcements, including that the Stage 2 development is progressing with front-end engineering design (FEED) and site planning approvals are expected by the end of the month.

The big challenge right now is the efficiency of that photocatalyst material,” University of Adelaide’s Professor Gregory Metha said. He explained that the photocatalyst in the pilot plant need only be half as efficient as a competing photovoltaic system (20-25%) since the plant will not have the capex of the electrolyser, nor the cost of the electricity.

“We need to demonstrate what the plant is going to look like, so that’s where our work is focusing,” Metha said. “Our commercialisation manager here at the university likens it to us designing a car that is agnostic to the fuel.”

.... Equipment procurement is already underway and the pilot plant is anticipated to finish construction by mid-2025. The finished plant will test PWS via semi-continuous operation of an ‘on-sun’ plant using concentrated solar mirrors, advancing the reactor technology readiness level (TRL) from 5 to at least 6.

Fortescue-backed concentrated solar hydrogen tech graduates to pilot phase

Resources giant Fortescue has committed to the next phase of advancing a novel green hydrogen technology that uses only sunlight, water and a photocatalyst.

reneweconomy.com.au

@basilio Sounds well and good but the proof is still to come.

 

[basilio]

@basilio Sounds well and good but the proof is still to come.

Indeed it is. I was highlighting a few salient points

1) This pilot plant should be up and running within 6 months

2) It appears that the processing mechanism for the operation is relatively straightforward. The critical element is the efficiency of the catalyst.

3) The University seems to be setting a low bar of how efficient the catalyst needs to be to make the process cost effective. Two implications here
- a) At 10-15% efficiency it is equivalent to current PV systems
- b) Therefore if they can extract/develop significantly higher efficiencies this process will absolutely kill the alternatives

4) From the sound of the operations if they did get 15-20% efficiency initially they could safely start up a commercial plant and work on replacing the catalyst as their research improves.

But yes this is still a work in progress.