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Ampt String Optimizers to Power Green Hydrogen in Australia

via Business Wire

Hiringa Energy selects Ampt for its green hydrogen and ammonia facility that supports Sundown Pastoral’s low-carbon cotton production

Ampt, the #1 DC optimizer company for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems, announced the use of its String Optimizers by Hiringa Energy, a developer of green hydrogen projects, as part of a low-carbon cotton production operation for Sundown Pastoral. Ampt’s technology will be used to power the solar+storage system for Hiringa’s green hydrogen and ammonia production facility that is part of the Good Earth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia (GEGHA) project in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

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The GEGHA project, partially funded by the NSW Government with AUD$35.8 million ($23.6 million) under the Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020-2030, leverages renewable energy to create a low-carbon alternative to imported fertilizer and feedstocks. Located at Sundown Pastoral’s Good Earth cotton farm near Moree, the project’s engineering was led by Kinelli and represents a strategic partnership between solar, hydrogen, and agriculture leaders that aligns demand with supply to meet the needs of the agriculture sector.

Producing hydrogen through electrolysis is an energy-intensive process. While this energy is often supplied by fossil fuel sources, the GEGHA project combines solar generation with battery energy storage to deliver a renewable alternative for hydrogen production. The green hydrogen is used to produce ammonia fertilizer with very low carbon emissions. Using clean hydrogen and ammonia allows Sundown Pastoral to produce cotton with a low-carbon footprint to meet increased consumer demand for sustainable practices by the textile and fashion industries. Sundown Pastoral also secures the price and supply of fertilizer for the next 20 years.

“By delivering higher performance and lower costs, our String Optimizers help make renewable hydrogen and ammonia economically competitive,” said Russell French, Country Director of Australia at Ampt.

The project features a 27 MWdc solar array paired with a 30 MWh battery energy storage system. Ampt String Optimizers allow a DC-coupled design where the PV system connects directly to the DC bus between the battery and grid-forming battery inverter. This battery-centric approach was key to powering the off-grid electrolyzers from the hybrid power plant and to producing enough hydrogen to feed the ammonia plant 24 hours a day.

“Integrating Ampt’s technology was critical to achieving our system design and performance targets,” said Alistair Tippett, Head of Projects and Engineering at Hiringa Energy. “Green hydrogen and ammonia production places unique demands on power systems, and Ampt’s DC power management technology enables us to maximize solar generation and storage efficiency, key to making production cost-competitive. We look forward to deploying similar systems across New Zealand and Australia.”

Ampt String Optimizers are DC/DC converters that are deployed in the PV array and perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT) on each input string of PV modules to maximize production. The optimizers then deliver full available power while following the battery voltage as it charges and discharges. Ampt’s battery-centric designs are desirable due to their rapid response times and advanced grid service capabilities, such as Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS). Furthermore, compared to other designs, this architecture uses fewer inverters and transformers to deliver a lower-cost power management solution with higher efficiency.

About Ampt

Ampt delivers innovative power conversion and communication technology that are used to lower the cost and improve the performance of new PV systems, repower existing systems, and enable lower-cost DC-coupled storage. With installations and experience serving markets around the world, Ampt is the number one DC optimizer company for large-scale systems. The company is headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, and has sales and support locations in North America, Europe, and Japan as well as representation in Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.ampt.com and follow Ampt on LinkedIn.

About Hiringa Energy

Hiringa Energy is a privately owned hydrogen company founded in New Zealand, with a strategic focus on hydrogen solutions for hard-to-abate sectors. Since 2016, Hiringa has been developing low-carbon hydrogen production projects to supply industry, agriculture and transport, including utility-scale wind and solar to hydrogen and ammonia production.

Hiringa has a proven track record in developing, constructing, and operating world-leading hydrogen infrastructure. The company operates Australasia’s first and only green hydrogen refuelling network, and is in advanced planning for several other major hydrogen infrastructure projects, including a green hydrogen refuelling corridor between Sydney and Brisbane, and decarbonised ammonia production at its Kapuni green hydrogen project in partnership with Ballance in Taranaki, New Zealand. For more information, visit www.hiringaenergy.com or follow Hiringa on LinkedIn.

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