In a bid to break Australia’s heavy reliance on imports for urea fertiliser, Greenhill Energy is set to launch the Riverbend Energy Hub in South Australia’s Murraylands.
This ambitious project aims to not only reduce the nation’s dependence on international markets but also bolster food security and promote sustainability in the agricultural sector, the company said in a media release.
The proposed manufacturing facility in Tailem Bend will be a pioneering project, integrating landfill waste and sustainable biomass to produce high-value products such as urea fertiliser, synthetic fuels, and clean hydrogen.
With partnerships already secured with industry giants like Elders, Solo Resource Recovery, and Peats Soil and Garden Supplies, Greenhill Energy is poised to divert biomass and waste materials into its processing facility starting from 2025.
Nicholas Mumford, executive managing director of Greenhill Energy, emphasised the importance of supporting local farmers while addressing Australia’s vulnerability to fluctuating international prices.
“We know our lack of sovereign capacity and resilience worries many people on the land. We aim to provide domestic supply certainty and place downward pressure on the cost of local food production,” stated Mumford.
The initiative comes at a crucial time when Australia’s dependence on foreign urea imports is escalating annually.
The closure of regional plants in 2022 further exacerbated the situation, leaving the nation entirely reliant on international sources.
However, Greenhill Energy’s innovative approach offers a sustainable solution by repurposing waste materials into valuable resources.
The Riverbend Energy Hub will utilise advanced waste-to-hydrogen technologies, including gasification, to produce “green urea” and clean hydrogen.
Initially targeting 100,000 tonnes of green urea production, Greenhill Energy aims to scale up operations to meet a significant portion of the nation’s urea needs in the future.
“We are proud to be one step closer to delivering Australia’s first fully integrated facility of this kind in regional South Australia to convert high volume sustainable biomass and landfill waste into high value upcycled products, such as urea fertiliser,” Mumford stressed.
Beyond addressing domestic demand, Greenhill Energy plans to replicate its success by establishing similar facilities across Australia and internationally.
