Green energy pioneer visits Whyalla
Whyalla continues to be the focus of global green energy pioneers, with a legendary Formula 1 engineer the latest looking to take advantage of our city’s hydrogen potential.
Paddy Lowe – former McLaren Racing Technical Director and now CEO of Zero Petroleum – visited Whyalla with his team to view several locations and learn more about the Hydrogen Jobs Plan (HJP) project from Whyalla City Council and State Government representatives.
Zero Petroleum is the leading producer of carbon-neutral synthetic fuel – made from just air (carbon dioxide) and water (hydrogen) – aiming to reduce reliance on oil/coal/gas-based fossil fuels.
Earlier this year, the company stated its intentions by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Government to explore investment opportunities in South Australia by 2026, with Whyalla one of the potential sites due to the eventual availability of hydrogen from the HJP.
Mayor Phill Stone and council CEO Justin Commons hosted the group, providing an overview of council’s green energy ambitions.
“Zero Petroleum is an example of the cutting-edge industries that are interested in Whyalla as a result of the State Government’s investment in hydrogen, which gives us continued optimism for the city’s future,” Mayor Stone said.
“Regardless of whether this particular prospect ends up in Whyalla, it demonstrates that the eyes of the world are squarely focused on Whyalla and realising the major potential for our green energy future.
“The more we can attract new industries such as this to our city, the more diverse our economy will be, reducing our predominant reliance on steel manufacturing and minimising the impact of downturns like the one we currently face.
“We understand there’ll always be pessimists who ‘won’t believe it until they see it’, but we can’t let scepticism get in the way of pursuing potential opportunities and our net zero ambitions.”
Mr Lowe said South Australia was one of the most promising sites for Zero’s future commercial-scale plant.
“We are working closely with South Australia to bring our fossil-free vision to life, and this visit has further reinforced the scale of opportunities in the region,” Mr Lowe said.
“The Government of South Australia has transformed the region into a global hub of renewable solar and wind power development, and its transition to a thriving green hydrogen economy is a genuinely exciting prospect for us.”
Find out more about Zero at zero.co.
