ANOTHER Fortescue green hydrogen project is on the brink of collapse, in a further blow to the Australian mining giant’s ambitions to export zero-carbon ammonia for ships.

Australian fertiliser maker Incitec Pivot Limited said in its annual report that it planned to sell land that was set to house a Fortescue plant with 550 MW of electrolyser capacity at Gibson Island, Brisbane.

The plant was on hold in the face of high electricity costs before IPL’s move, which likely spells the end of the Gibson Island plan, trade publication Hydrogen Insight first reported.

Fortescue and IPL had partnered to build the plant on the site of an IPL ammonia plant shuttered since January 2023. It would use electrolysers to split hydrogen from water, and then turn it into ammonia for easier transport and use as a ship fuel.

But like other Fortescue ammonia projects around the world, the project hit the skids in the face of high electricity costs. Fortescue earlier rolled back its green hydrogen ambitions, slashing 700 jobs earlier this year and pivoting to making cheaper electricity instead.

Fortescue had agreed, last October, to buy 337.5 MW of solar power from the Bulli Creek array over 25 years. But Fortescue missed three extensions on its original deadline to make a final investment decision on the Gibson Island plant, a condition of the agreement going ahead.

A Fortescue spokesperson said: “While we remain steadfast in our commitment to green hydrogen, we have been clear that power prices globally and in Australia are a challenge.”

They said the company was focusing initially on four green hydrogen projects in Australia (at Gladstone), the US, Norway and Brazil. Projects in Oman, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan would come after.

“While Fortescue will continue to maintain a portfolio of other projects for the future, our financial discipline always comes first,” the spokesperson said.

“We will never do projects that are not currently economically viable.”

Yesterday, Fortescue joined Norwegian PCTC operator Höegh Autoliners at COP29 in Azerbaijan in calling on countries to fast-track the adoption of green ammonia for shipping.

Fortescue Energy chief executive Mark Hutchinson said the industry was at a crossroads and the IMO must make a clear, robust regulatory framework.

“There are so many transition fuels that are being peddled out there, but they are just a distraction,” Hutchinson said.

“Only green ammonia can help us reduce carbon emissions in shipping and in turn can help us address the worst impacts of climate change.”

Höegh Autoliners chief executive Andreas Enger called partnering with Fortescue “another milestone on our path to net zero”. He has been bullish on ammonia as fuel for deepsea ships.