Hazer Group has extended its non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Japanese trading giant Mitsui & Co, Ltd (Tokyo, Japan), pushing forward joint efforts to explore potential markets for Hazer’s low-emissions graphite. 

The agreement, which builds on the original MOU announced on 16 November 2022, will now continue for another year, with automatic renewals unless terminated by either party, as revealed in an ASX announcement. 

The partnership leverages Mitsui’s extensive global network to evaluate the applications of Hazer’s graphite in steel manufacturing, chemicals, and other sectors. 

Hazer has already conducted positive market analysis, identifying promising segments for its graphite, including iron and steel production, thermal energy storage, and water purification.

“We are excited to be extending our strategic partnership with Mitsui,” said Hazer’s CEO and Managing Director, Glenn Corrie. 

“Hazer’s technology is unique in that it produces both low-cost, clean hydrogen as well as a low-emissions graphite product.”

Initial investigations have pointed to a variety of applications for Hazer’s graphite:

• Steel Manufacturing: Hazer’s graphite demonstrates suitability for both traditional blast furnaces and emerging green-steel processes, owing to its structured composition and iron inclusion.
• Thermal Energy Storage: Its excellent thermal conductivity and stability make it an efficient medium for heat transfer.
• Water Purification: Hazer’s graphite has shown potential for enhanced PFAS removal, a growing environmental concern.
• Construction Materials: The graphite is also being evaluated for asphalt, bitumen, and concrete production.

According to Corrie, the collaboration with Mitsui helps Hazer access challenging markets and critical industries where decarbonisation solutions are in high demand. 

“In light of increased global awareness around the vulnerability of critical mineral supply chains, this is a clear value differentiator for Hazer’s technology in the methane pyrolysis space,” he added.

As part of the extended agreement, the two companies will move forward with further product evaluation and larger sample testing from Hazer’s Commercial Demonstration Plant (CDP). 

Both companies will also engage with potential buyers to establish volumes, pricing frameworks, and potential offtake agreements.

“Through this important partnership with Mitsui, we have jointly identified markets that offer a good fit for our graphite, and discussions are ongoing to establish volume, pricing ranges, and potential offtake opportunities,” Corrie explained.

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Hazer Group has achieved a key milestone at its Commercial Demonstration Plant (CDP), completing over 360 hours of continuous operation and demonstrating improvements in methane conversion.

The CDP performance test program is on track for completion by the end of 2024, the company said in an ASX announcement. 

Following plant optimisations, the company confirmed the achievement of 362 hours of continuous operation with periods of controlled catalyst injection, resulting in key technical advancements. 

The company said its technology has seen substantial progress, with methane-to-hydrogen conversion rates nearing design values.

Hazer CEO Glenn Corrie expressed optimism about the company’s technological strides, saying, “We continue to demonstrate Hazer’s technology is at the forefront of innovation with excellent test program performance which is supporting our commercialization strategy.”

Key highlights from the recent test campaign include stable reactor operations, improved feed gas flow rates, and the avoidance of reactor fouling. 

The technology’s resilience has been further reinforced by the production of Hazer graphite, which is set for advanced customer testing. 

The company said it believes these results will support the commercial scale-up of their methane pyrolysis technology.

“These strong operational milestones are a result of many years of technology development and scale-up success,” Corrie added. 

The use of a fluidised bed reactor (FBR), a proven technology in refining and metallurgical industries, has been pivotal in Hazer’s success.

The company has also underscored the importance of its extensive global patent coverage, with more than 70 patents protecting its methane pyrolysis process.

In the latest campaign, the CDP demonstrated over 97 per cent production uptime.

After over 800 hours of reactor operation, the plant is currently undergoing its statutory inspection, with positive results from material performance under process conditions.

Looking ahead, Hazer said it plans to focus on producing high-purity graphite in the final 2024 CDP campaign, with the aim of completing large-scale application tests. 

Concurrently, work is advancing on the next-generation reactor and heat exchange equipment, which will be key for scaling up hydrogen production to over 20ktpa.

“The CDP test program performance has been the enabler for many commercial discussions,” Corrie explained, highlighting ongoing partnerships with FortisBC, POSCO, ENGIE, and Chubu Electric. 

He emphasised the growing demand for large-scale applications, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel making and petrochemicals.

The company also reported significant progress with its first large-scale commercial facility in Canada, with partner FortisBC.

The project recently achieved a key milestone with the delivery of 105kg of graphite to FortisBC for use in their small-scale test unit, which will be installed later this year.

FortisBC’s test-rig has completed construction and will be installed on-site in Q4 for testing in early 2025 ahead of FID.

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Hazer Group announced a major achievement in the development of its Commercial Demonstration Plant, confirming that it has successfully operated continuously and stably for over 240 hours, marking a crucial milestone in its performance testing.

The ongoing “testing – modification – testing” work by our scientists, engineers and technicians has resulted in excellent performance and demonstration of high reliability for our first-of-a-kind technology,” said Hazer CEO Glenn Corrie. 

He added, “We have achieved another major milestone that enables the commercialisation of the Hazer process and supports our growth strategy globally.”

During the 240-hour operation, the CDP demonstrated several key objectives, including continuous production with the injection of catalyst into the reactor bed, stable and reliable solids separation from the product gas stream, and operational reliability with process uptime exceeding targets. 

The plant is now operating in a steady state mode, with continuous production of hydrogen and graphite, the company said in an ASX announcement. 

As the CDP moves forward, the current operations are being optimised to produce commercially representative graphite. 

The graphite produced will undergo quality verification to ensure consistency before distribution to major partners for large-scale testing and analysis.

Moreover, this milestone satisfies a key performance requirement under the ARENA funding agreement, unlocking the next tranche of funding in January 2025. 

This non-dilutive cash flow will support Hazer’s ongoing commercialisation strategy.

In addition to this, the CDP results are being used to advance four existing commercial projects with major partners including POSCO, ENGIE, Chubu Electric/Chiyoda Corporation, and FortisBC.

The data is also aiding the advancement of new customer projects and strategic partnership opportunities.

The next steps for the CDP include planned maintenance and inspections, during which the extensive steady state operation dataset will be analysed. 

This analysis will further inform Hazer’s strategy as they push towards declaring commercial readiness next year.

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Hazer Group Ltd has officially inked a binding Project Development Agreement (PDA) with FortisBC Energy Inc to spearhead the development of a hydrogen production facility in Canada.

This initiative, set to be established in British Columbia, will leverage Hazer’s technology and boast a production capacity of up to 2,500 tonnes per annum (tpa) of clean hydrogen, accompanied by around 9,500 tpa of Hazer graphite, the company said in a media release.

Upscaling its operations, the firm said this project is 25 times larger than its Commercial Demonstration Plant in Western Australia and represents Hazer’s inaugural commercial-scale initiative to produce low-cost, low-emissions hydrogen and graphite.

FortisBC, a leading Canadian energy utility, will lead the charge in developing the project and supplying the natural gas feedstock, furthering British Columbia’s CleanBC Roadmap to 2030, aimed at reducing emissions in the province.

This agreement builds on Hazer’s recent success with the startup of its Commercial Demonstration Plant in Western Australia earlier this year.

Under the PDA, FortisBC will assume 100 per cent equity ownership and lead the project’s development and operation, while Hazer will serve as the core technology licensor.

This streamlined partnership aligns with Hazer’s ‘capex lite’ business model, mitigating capital expenditure obligations for the company.

Moreover, Hazer will receive license fees determined by a sliding scale model based on facility size, production output, and other pertinent factors.

Notably, Hazer will lead engineering activities related to its core technology components, providing further assurance of project success.

With the completion of the Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) study, facilitated by Wood Plc, key design elements for the 2,500 tpa plant are in place, paving the way for the project’s advancement into subsequent development phases.

The FEED study, expected to conclude in late 2024, will incorporate feedback from the selection of the project site, with the full integration targeted for completion alongside definitive commercial agreements by early 2025.

Glenn Corrie, CEO and MD of Hazer, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration with FortisBC, emphasizing Canada’s strategic significance in deploying Hazer technology.

Corrie remarked, “With the successful start-up and operation of our Commercial Demonstration Plant, this announcement is the next step in Hazer’s commercialisation strategy.”

“FortisBC is the ideal partner to help us on our mission to drive the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries utilising our unique climate-technology,” he concluded.

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Australian chemicals commercial company Hazer Group has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Nagoya-based Chubu Electric Power Company Inc. and Chiyoda Corporation to work together on a Project Development Plan (PDP) for a Hazer manufacturing site in the Chubu region of Japan.

Under the terms of the agreement, the three entities will prepare a PDP for a commercial-scale Hazer facility in Japan with an ultimate targeted hydrogen production capacity of up to 100,000 tpa, with an initial capacity between 2,500 and 10,000 tpa.

Chubu Electric Power aims to use the hydrogen produced as a fuel for transportation, other hard-to-abate industries, and power generation in the Nagoya region.

The parties have also agreed to complete the PDP by the first half of 2024, and will concurrently construct the appropriate definitive partnership and commercial agreements to advance the project with commitment, with the facility’s initial start-up scheduled for the late 2020s.

For the development and implementation of the initiative, ASX-listed Hazer, together with Chubu Electric and Chiyoda will form a project group looking for graphite offtake options.

According to Kouji Sada, general manager of Chubu Electric’s Electric Power Research and Development Centre, the company is “firmly committed” to decarbonising both its own operations and those of its clients.

“We believe the Hazer technology offers an attractive solution to locally produce low carbon hydrogen, using our existing supply chains and infrastructure,” Sada added.

Chiyoda’s Norimasa Matsuoka, senior vice president at its Frontier Business Division, stated that Chiyoda and Hazer have been working closely together for a while. 

Matsuoka said, “We believe Hazer’s innovative technology has a strong alignment with the Japanese market and we are delighted to be working together with Chubu Electric and Hazer, bringing our engineering and project expertise to bear on this exciting project for early social implementation towards a carbon-free society.”

Meanwhile, Glenn Corrie, managing director at Hazer Group, pointed out that Japan has always been essential to Hazer as a strategic market for the application of our cutting-edge technologies.

“By integrating our technology into the existing energy value chain, we can contribute to the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as power generation, heavy industry and mobility,” Corrie stated.

“This partnership complements our already established partnership with Mitsui relating to our graphite offtake and is further validation of the Hazer technology business plan,” the Hazer official concluded. 

On April 4, 2023, the Japanese government announced that it would increase its objective for hydrogen supply to 12 million tonnes year by 2040, or a six-fold increase over the present target of 2 million tonnes annually.

In addition to Japan, Hazer stated that it sees Singapore and Korea as significant strategic markets for the implementation of its technology in the Asia Pacific area.

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