Ampt and Hiringa Energy plan to deploy a 27 MW (DC) solar array with 30 MWh battery storage to power green hydrogen and ammonia production for a low-carbon cotton operation in Australia.

October 28, 2025
Ev Foley

From pv magazine Australia

US-based Ampt is collaborating with New Zealand-based green-hydrogen company Hiringa Energy on a low-carbon cotton production initiative.

Ampt’s string optimizer technology will support a solar plus storage system for Hiringa’s hydrogen and ammonia facility, part of the Good Earth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia (GEGHA) project near Moree, in eastern Australia.

The project features a 27 MW solar array paired with a 30 MWh battery energy storage system. Ampt string optimizers enable a DC-coupled design, connecting the solar system directly to the DC bus between the battery and the grid-forming battery inverter.

String optimizers are DC/DC converters deployed in the solar array that perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT) on each input string of solar modules. This maximizes production and delivers full available power while following battery voltage during charge and discharge cycles.

Ampt says its battery-centric designs offer rapid response times and advanced grid service capabilities, including Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS). Using fewer inverters and transformers than conventional setups, the system delivers lower-cost power management with higher efficiency.

Partially funded by the Australian government with AUD 35.8 million ($23.5 million) under the Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020-30, the GEGHA project supports Sundown Pastoral’s low-carbon cotton production. It leverages renewable energy to provide a local, low-carbon alternative to imported fertilizer and feedstocks.

The battery-centric design is critical for powering off-grid electrolysers and producing sufficient hydrogen to feed the ammonia plant continuously.

“Green hydrogen and ammonia production places unique demands on power systems, and Ampt’s DC power management technology enables us to maximize solar generation and storage efficiency, key to making production cost-competitive,” said Alistair Tippett of Hiringa Energy.

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