05 February 2020 – Engineering, design and advisory company Aurecon has appointed Hydrogen & Chemicals Technology Director Thom Cameron to lead the integration of hydrogen technology and help clients unlock their future energy potential.

The demand for cheaper low-carbon and zero-carbon energy has accelerated improvement in the cost and performance of renewables, batteries and hydrogen-related energy supply technologies.

However, understanding how to integrate hydrogen technology is crucial to optimising energy capabilities and will be a key focus area for Thom. He will help clients reimagine how they are positioned in their value chain and how they power and fuel assets to understand the hydrogen technology investment returns for their business.

The newly created Hydrogen & Chemicals Technology role complements Aurecon’s existing expertise in the future energy value chain from renewable energy and generation, storage, network distribution and transmission through to transport and asset performance.

“Hydrogen is a great enabler for decarbonisation. It not only allows the transport of renewable energy from where its cheap to produce, but it also forms a chemical feedstock that can be converted into energy or fuel. Hydrogen has the potential to help decarbonise industries such as mining through hydrogen-fuelled truck fleets and remote power generation, and agriculture through green fertiliser, while there is potential for the shipping industry to be transformed through green ammonia as a marine bunker fuel, for example,” Thom said.

Thom’s experience as a business leader with a strong technical background developed across the oil, gas, petrochemical and energy industries has culminated in significant expertise in green energy and chemicals including hydrogen, ammonia and derivative chemicals.

For the past 15 years, Thom has held several roles from engineer to project delivery to most recently leading Chemical and Process Technologies at thyssenkrupp Australia. This experience has provided valuable insights into available technologies, their inherent limitations and how best to optimise process plant configurations to suit customer business cases. Along with understanding the technology Thom also brings experience in project execution having been involved in designing, building and commissioning major hazard facilities.

Aurecon’s Managing Director for Energy, Resources & Manufacturing Paul Gleeson said the integration of future energy and fuel technologies like hydrogen for example is critical – although the technical solutions exist, the key is to identify the right technology, determine a return on investment and transition from one source of energy to another without causing disruption.

“We have directly seen the success of trial hydrogen projects and systems. The opportunity for companies and communities to reap the long-term economic benefits of future energy and fuels like hydrogen in a low-carbon or zero-carbon future is there for the taking,” Paul said.