Australia's Northern Territory government on Monday (Dec 13) gave its backing to a US$10.75 billion (S$14.6 billion) project that uses solar energy and water captured from the atmosphere to produce hydrogen.

Axar.az reports that the Desert Bloom Hydrogen project, which is expected to grow in stages south of Darwin, aims to eventually deliver around 410,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year for domestic and international export markets, including Japan, by 2028.

Mr Gerard Reiter, chief executive officer of technology company Aqua Aerem that is building the project, said he expects construction to start in 2022 and the first commercial-scale production by 2023.

Aqua Aerem's majority shareholder is Sanguine Impact Investment (SII), a Singapore-based entity that sources its funds from Europe, North America and Asia.