Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has made its first major move in the United States following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, investing US$24 million to acquire a 100% stake in the Phoenix Hydrogen Hub.
Phoenix Hydrogen Hub is developing a proposed green hydrogen project located near Phoenix, in the city of Buckeye, Arizona. Phase One of the project is planned to be an 80MW electrolyser and liquefaction facility, capable of producing up to 12,000 tonnes of liquified green hydrogen annually, which can displace the equivalent of 10 million gallons of diesel consumption per year. The project has further capacity to scale up production to help meet future demand.
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The announcement of the investment comes as Fortescue Metals Group and FFI come together as one brand “Fortescue” to represent being a unified global metals and green energy company. The move, which comes after 20 years with the proud FMG brand, was confirmed to staff to coincide with Fortescue’s 20-year anniversary.
FFI CEO Mark Hutchinson said first production of green hydrogen from the Phoenix Hydrogen Hub project is expected by the middle of this decade.
“This is an exciting opportunity to work towards a fast-moving project that will lead the way in the US, creating new green industrial jobs for Americans, while also helping to reduce emissions once production begins. The US is now one of the best places in the world to do this, with the Inflation Reduction Act making it an ideal place to invest in green energy,” he said.
“This investment by FFI will greatly strengthen one of the country’s first and most important hydrogen ecosystems and it is a significant milestone in creating the all-important local connective infrastructure to accelerate the use of green hydrogen.
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“This demonstrates FFI’s commitment to decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors like transport and moving the world beyond fossil fuels.”
FFI is acquiring PHH from an affiliate of Nikola Corporation—a global player in zero-emissions transportation and energy supply and infrastructure solutions. Nikola, whose trucks are manufactured in Coolidge, Arizona, will be a potential customer of liquified green hydrogen from the hub to support the deployment of its heavy-duty, zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and hydrogen refuelling stations in California and the Southwest.
