Billionaire mulls plan to build green hydrogen facility on last US coal site

RIYADH: Australian metals miner Fortescue’s biggest shareholder, billionaire Andrew Forrest, is considering building a green hydrogen facility near Washington State’s last operating coal-fired power station.

Fortescue Future Industries entered into a binding exclusivity agreement with an industrial park near TransAlta Corp.’s Centralia facility, scheduled to close in 2025, Bloomberg reported citing a statement by the Perth-based company.

The existing coal workforce is to be employed for the proposed project, according to FFI plans.

Forrest and his company, also known as the world’s fourth-biggest iron ore exporter, have announced many potential investments in a bid to become one of the world’s biggest clean energy producers over the next decade. 

A lineup of multibillion-dollar projects is set to reach that goal, according to Bloomberg.

Supplying Europem, together with German energy giant EON SE, and buying Williams Advanced Engineering are among Forrest projects.