Fortescue Future Industries denies claims it has abandoned Tasmanian operations, hydrogen project

Billionaire mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s renewable energy business has hosed down claims it has turned its back on Tasmania and abandoned a major green hydrogen project.

Andrew Forrest, Fortescue Metals Group, The Minderoo Foundation at the Jobs and Skills Summit at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Billionaire mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s renewable energy business, Fortescue Future Industries, has hosed down claims it has turned its back on Tasmania and abandoned a major green hydrogen project touted for Bell Bay.

Labor energy spokesman Dean Winter said on Wednesday that the company had “left the state”, “sacked all its staff” and scrapped its planned 250MW green hydrogen and ammonia plant slated for the Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone.

“The mishandling of this important renewable energy project by Energy Minister Guy Barnett is causing chaos and obstructing growth in the sector,” he said.

But a spokeswoman for FFI said the business was retaining its Tasmanian operations and was still pursuing the Bell Bay project.

Andrew Forrest, Fortescue Metals Group, The Minderoo Foundation at the Jobs and Skills Summit at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“FFI is committed to delivering green hydrogen projects in Australia and is making good progress across our portfolio,” she said.

“We are continuing to work with stakeholders, including the Tasmanian government, to secure power and water supply for our plans in Tasmania.”

The Mercury understands FFI has recently made one Tasmania-based staff member redundant as part of a restructure of its operations on Australia’s east coast. But it’s understood this won’t have an impact on resourcing allocated to progressing projects in the state.

In state parliament on Wednesday, Mr Barnett said he was “aware of [FFI’s] plans with respect to their undertaking of an internal restructure” at a national level.

“Their internal resources as an entity is a matter for them,” he said in response to a question from Mr Winter.

Minister Guy Barnett. Question time in the Tasmanian parliament. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“We have plans to grow our renewable energy future, put downward pressure on prices, deliver more jobs, deliver energy security, rather than talking the country down, talking the state down, talking business down.”

The government released the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan in 2020, which included a target of beginning production and use of the green fuel between 2022 and 2024. It also envisioned that export-based renewable hydrogen production projects would be “well-advanced” within the same time period.

Neither of these goals have been achieved to date.

Woodside Energy has agreed to terms for a long-term lease of land at Bell Bay for a 1.7GW green hydrogen project, while Origin Energy has completed a feasibility study investigating the construction of a renewable hydrogen and ammonia plant at the industrial site.