IBE estimates that the offtake agreements for its Project NEO will amount to over $7.5 billion.

Image: Horizon Power

Perth-based Infinite Blue Energy (IBE) has unveiled a bold plan to deliver Australia’s first green hydrogen baseload power plant that could change the electricity landscape in New South Wales (NSW). Project NEO is initially focused on providing 1000 MW of green hydrogen using solar, wind and hydrogen fuel cells for 24/7 electricity supply.

The project, which will commence with a feasibility study and detailed design over the next 18 months, aims to transition energy-intensive, fossil fuel-dependent industries in NSW to 100% renewables by 2027. To provide reliable baseload power, NEO will use solar and wind to produce hydrogen, a certain amount of which will be stored in fuel cells and available when there is no wind or sun, on cloudy days and at night. 

“The vision at IBE is to show the world, first and foremost, that Australia has the technology, skills and entrepreneurial mindset to be a true leader in the development of green hydrogen plants,” IBE CEO Stephen Gauld said. “We are currently in robust negotiations with major electricity users in the NSW Hunter Region that have confirmed their intentions to transition to green hydrogen baseload electricity this decade.”

Led by a team with substantial experience in the oil and gas sector, IBE has only recently appeared on the Australian energy scene. In April, the company unveiled plans for the first of its many green hydrogen projects in Western Australia (WA), announcing an initial $300 million investment for its first phase of construction. Other companies that have announced gigawatt-scale plans in WA include BP Australia, which is looking to develop around 1.5 GW of greenfield solar and wind projects for its green hydrogen and ammonia plans, and Siemens, which aims to produce green hydrogen for local industry and export to Asia from up to 5 GW of wind and solar capacity.

Another megaproject underway in WA is the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), which could feature up to 15 GW of solar and wind capacity with the goal to supply local energy users in the Pilbara region and develop a green hydrogen manufacturing hub for domestic use and export to Asia. Recently, AREH has moved forward after being recommended for environmental approval.

Fast-tracking NSW’s energy transition

Project NEO, which comes with a $2.7 billion price tag, is expected to feature 235 wind turbines and a PV array covering approximately 1,250 hectares of land. The cumulative renewable energy capacity will stand at around 3.5 GW and will be deployed at high-value sites for solar and wind production, in combination with a “distributed generation model”. “This allows the generation sites to blend in with existing land users with minimal impact,” IBE says.

Over 2 million NSW homes stand to benefit from Project NEO, the company says, in addition to other economic benefits. IBE anticipates that a significant proportion of the workforce required for Project NEO will be drawn from the existing coal-fired power stations in NSW, since many of the skills are similar.

“Project NEO will produce local and indirect employment, allow existing industries to decarbonize, and facilitate the establishment of new industries,” Gauld says. “It will localize manufacturing, give a 100% green supply of power to NSW, fuel the reduction of the state’s carbon emissions and can therefore play a pivotal role in ultimately helping Australia become leaders in carbon emission reduction.”

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-australia.com and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-australia.com).

The researchers have made a green hydrogen production breakthrough.

Image: Griffith University

Griffith University researchers have reported a breakthrough in clean hydrogen electrolysis using CoSe₂ nanobelts, ultrathin sheets made out of a lattice of cobalt (Co) and selenium (Se), as highly-efficient water splitting electrocatalysts. To fully unleash the power of CoSe₂ nanobelts as an electrocatalyst for the oxidation or breakdown of water, the researchers have combined two separate processes.

In a paper published in Nature Communications, the Griffith University researchers describe how they have implemented both ‘Iron (Fe) doping’, replacing some of the cobalt on the nanobelt with iron, and ‘Cobalt (Co) vacancy’, removing some of the cobalt. When applied individually, the two processes improve the nanobelt’s ability to speed up reactions to a small degree but put together their combined effect dramatically increases catalytic activity.

Hydrogen from electrolysis is often described as the missing link in the energy transition.

Image: Roy Luck/Flickr

As the momentum is building behind hydrogen in Australia and abroad, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is leading the way in research and development with a range of initiatives on the ground. After it played a key role in Australia’s first green hydrogen shipment to Japan, QUT is now readying to drive the green hydrogen export industry through the Future Energy Exports Cooperative Research Centre (FEnEx CRC).

Officially established on Friday, the FEnEx CRC is a national collaboration of 28 industry, government, and research partners. As announced on Friday, the center won the backing of the Federal Government to the tune of $40 million, which builds upon a further $122 million in support from industry, state governments, and research organizations.

The CRC’s core mission is to ensure Australia’s LNG industry remains competitive, reduces its environmental footprint, and helps to grow hydrogen exports for new emerging markets. Its foundation project will be establishing the LNG Futures Facility, a 10 tonne-per-day research and teaching plant to be based at Kwinana, in Western Australia.

“FEnEx CRC will undertake cutting-edge, industry-led research, education and training to help sustain Australia’s position as a leading LNG exporter, and enable it to become the leading global exporter of clean hydrogen,” Professor Eric May, UWA’s Chevron Chair in Gas Process Engineering and FEnEx CRC Acting CEO, said. “Our established LNG sector is a key advantage in the race to grow a hydrogen export industry because of the similar workforce skills, engineering standards, shipping routes, and business relationships.”

But while Professor May has spoken about “clean” hydrogen, there has been no indication that this hydrogen will be truly clean and produced by electrolysis using solar or wind electricity. He said the CRC would support Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy, which remains “technology-neutral”, with both hydrogen produced using renewable energy and the one via fossil fuels with “substantial” carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the game.

Throughout the consultation process last year, Chief Scientist Alan Finkel continued to push Australia toward hydrogen produced by solar and wind, but also remained attached to the fossil fuel-CSS idea. The stance was reflected in the Strategy itself.

Green hydrogen push

Nonetheless, Professor Ian Mackinnon, from QUT’s Institute for Future Environments, said FEnEx would build on the extensive work QUT had already done in the green hydrogen sphere, including partnering with Japanese company JXTG to produce and export green hydrogen to Japan and leading a $7.5 million research project to establish a renewable energy pilot plant producing green hydrogen at the Redlands Research Facility. This latter project is supported by four universities, Japanese and Australian corporations, the Queensland Government and the Commonwealth agency, ARENA.

“The FEnEx CRC is an excellent opportunity to translate the skills from one industry, and to build another export industry in the world of green hydrogen storage and utilization,” Professor Mackinnon said. As part of the FEnEx CRC, QUT’s Professor Mackinnon and Professor Anthony O’Mullane will be working on research projects involving the hydrogen export and value chains.

“This complements QUT’s activities in developing a renewable energy facility at Redlands to power the production of hydrogen using various electrolyser technologies,” Professor O’Mullane said. “This program will enable the next generation of scientists and engineers with the key skills for the transition to renewable power generation, storage, transport and utilisation. This CRC will accelerate efforts in the development of cheaper, more stable catalysts for rapid deployment in commercial scale electrolysers to produce green hydrogen.”

Another QUT professor, Rachel Parker will lead the Market Development Program in the FEnEx CRC, which will aim to identify the strongest global market opportunities for the development of Australia’s future energy exports. “The market development program will identify the business and social drivers and barriers to the adoption of technologies developed through the other CRC programs and will maximise the market and social benefits from the rapidly changing technological and industrial context of energy,” she said.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced a $1.25 million (US$807,495) grant to Queensland government-owned electricity generator Stanwell Corp. to assist a feasibility study for a renewable hydrogen demonstration plant, which will be located next to the company’s existing power station near Rockhampton. Stanwell’s $5 million study, which started in July 2019, is investigating the technical and economic feasibility of hydrogen electrolysis projects above 10 MW in size. If built, it will be the largest green hydrogen electrolysis plant in Australia.

To offset 100% of the emissions associated with running the electrolyzer, Stanwell will procure energy and green certificates from renewable energy projects in the region. This will be yet another innovative deal for the publicly owned generator, following last year’s network support agreement between Stanwell’s Kareeya Hydro Power Station and Pacific Hydro’s 100 MW Haughton Solar Farm. Under that deal, the services provided by Kareeya will strengthen the regional grid, which is subject to lower system-strength levels, to operate the solar project in line with generator performance standards.

A key outcome of the study will be to define the most valuable end use for renewable hydrogen. The utility-scale electrolyzer will enjoy the advantages of the existing power station to use pre-existing land approvals, network connections, and access to demineralized water, which is required for hydrogen production.

The project could demonstrate the role that renewable hydrogen production can play in an electricity system. In particular, the hydrogen electrolyzer could be used as a complementary energy market load that can ramp up in times of excess energy supply, such as peak solar output during the day. It could also aid system security through participation in Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) markets or future markets such as Fast Frequency Response (FFR).

“Through Stanwell’s feasibility study we’re showing a new option for producing and using renewable hydrogen. This will create opportunities across the domestic economy and help to position Australia to become a major renewable energy exporter,” ARENA CEO Darren Miller said. The ongoing study is expected to be completed later this year.

The hydrogen industry in its infancy in Australia, but the study will determine the optimal conditions for electrolyzers operating at high capacities. “The construction and operation of a utility-scale electrolyzer is important to demonstrate the costs associated with producing renewable hydrogen at scale,” Miller said. “If feasible, this could help underpin future commercial scale deployments leveraging existing network infrastructure at other power stations, and play a role in driving down the cost of domestic hydrogen production.”

ARENA has committed approximately $50 million towards hydrogen initiatives so far, including more than $22 million to R&D projects, and almost $28 million to demonstration, feasibility and pilot projects. In some of its earlier Queensland initiatives, ARENA announced it was providing $2.9 million in funding to two studies looking at the potential to use solar and wind-powered hydrogen produced via electrolysis to increase ammonia production at facilities which currently rely on gas as feedstock.

Schedule a call with us to see how Green Hydrogen could work for your facility:

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-usa.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-usa.com).

Providence Asset Group's Mr Llewellyn Owens, NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean, UNSW's Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou.

Image: UNSW

More than $15 million in funding from the state government’s Regional Community Energy Fund was announced on Tuesday to help regional communities in New South Wales (NSW) take control of their energy bills and benefit from the economic opportunities presented by the energy transition. The awarded projects will unlock nearly 17.2 MW in electricity generation and up to 17.9 MW/39.3 MWh of energy storage, leveraging approximately $36 million in private investment.

Six projects will install solar, four of which will collocate battery storage on site, and one will deliver a shared community battery scheme.  The list of approved projects includes 5 MW Bayron Bay Solar Farm alongside a 5 MW / 10MWh DC-coupled battery; 500 kW Gloucester Community Solar Farm; the Goulburn Community Dispatchable Solar Farm involving 1.2 MW of solar PV and 400 kW / 800 kWh of battery storage; 1 MW Haystack Solar Garden; Orange Community Renewable Energy Park with a 5 MW solar farm and up to 5 MW / 5 MWh of battery storage; and a 1 MW / 2MWh battery, which will be installed under Enova Community’s Shared Community Battery Scheme for regional NSW.

A project that stands out in the group for its combination of on-site renewable energy technologies is the Manilla Community Solar. The development will feature 4.5 MW of solar PV, 4.5 MW / 4.5MWh of battery storage and a 2 MW /17 MWh hydrogen energy storage system. It will be backed by a $3.5 million grant that has been awarded to the Manilla Solar Project, a partnership between Manilla Community Renewable Energy and green investment outfit Providence Asset Group.

Plans for the Manilla solar farm were announced in December as one of the first of up to 30 community solar initiatives to be rolled out across regional Australia. On Tuesday, it was confirmed that the development will feature an advanced hybrid battery storage system in addition to the solar and battery storage components. According to UNSW, solid-state hydrogen technology will be installed in 20-foot containers with an energy density of 17 MWh and will be a first of this kind in the world in terms of scale.

New generation of batteries

The technology was first unveiled last March when a team of researchers at UNSW headed by Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou said they had developed a unique system that allowed for cheap storage and transportation of hydrogen and could provide a new alternative for energy storage within two years.

Their research, conducted in partnership with H2Store, had been underpinned with $3.5 million in backing from Providence Asset Group. The funding was intended to help the team deliver phase one of a four-stage project that includes the creation of prototypes of their hydrogen energy storage solution for residential and commercial use, demonstration units, and testing and optimization that will enable full commercialization of the product.

Speaking about the first phase of the project, Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou said that he believed his invention would offer significant advantages over current power storage solutions for home solar systems, such as the Tesla Powerwall battery.

“We will be able to take energy generated through solar panels and store it as hydrogen in a very dense form, so one major advantage of our hydrogen batteries is that they take up less space and are safer than the lithium-ion batteries used in many homes today,” he said, adding that the system can actually store about seven times more energy than other that are currently available. Other advantages include a lifespan of about 30 years compared with under 10 for other systems and no fire risk.

On Tuesday, Professor Aguey-Zinsou said: “I am very excited to see the technology we developed in the lab here at UNSW scaled up and used in real-world applications. It will prove the feasibility of hydrogen storage at scale and position Australia to become a major player in transitioning to renewable energy.”

Construction will commence on the Manilla Solar Project in the second half of 2020 and is expected to be operational early 2021. The storage component will be installed during 2021.

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This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-australia.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-australia.com.)

Hydrogen from electrolysis is often described as the missing link in the energy transition.

Image: ARENA

Gladstone set to become the nation’s green hydrogen hotspot with two new projects seeking to tap the opportunities in the domestic supply of zero-emissions gas and in the emerging export market. Located in central Queensland, Gladstone is set to become the first entire city in the nation to be on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen.

An Australian first $4.2 million gas injection facility will be built in Gladstone to deliver renewable hydrogen into the city’s gas network, thanks to the first grant from the Queensland Government’s $15 million Hydrogen Industry Development Fund. “Using green hydrogen, Australian Gas Networks (AGN) will trial the blended hydrogen gas with a view to converting Gladstone’s network to hydrogen in the future,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

AGN, part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), has been offered more than $1.7 million through the fund to build a blending facility to deliver 10% renewable hydrogen into the gas network. Under its $19 million hydrogen strategy, Queensland is looking to assist companies with the purchase of capital equipment as well as industry players looking to carry out feasibility studies.

“This project will be the first in Australia to blend renewable hydrogen into a gas network with residential, commercial and industrial customers,” Minister for State Development Cameron Dick said speaking from the Gladstone Hydrogen Forum on Thursday.

Elsewhere in Australia, Canadian gas giant ATCO started blending renewable hydrogen into the on-site natural gas network at its Clean Energy Innovation Hub in Jandakot, WA. The blend will be used throughout the Jandakot depot as the first step in exploring the potential of hydrogen for home use in gas appliances.

In another initiative for greening the gas network, energy infrastructure company Jemena is looking to generate hydrogen from renewables and inject it into the existing gas network so that homes and businesses in Sydney could begin using the fuel within five years. The $15 million Western Sydney Green Gas Project aims to demonstrate the co-mingling, storage and distribution of hydrogen and natural gas in the existing network which, as Jemena puts it, has the capacity to store the equivalent of 8 million Powerwall batteries.

“This project supports Gladstone’s vision to be a key hub for Queensland’s domestic and hydrogen export industry, just as it is for natural gas today,” AGN’s CEO Ben Wilson said. AGN had formed a partnership with Central Queensland University (CQU) providing access to the blending facility for CQU staff and students to build skills in hydrogen technologies.

Gigawatt plans

Along with the AGN project, Gladstone has also been selected as the location for the Hydrogen Utility’s (H2U) latest project, a proposed $1.61 billion industrial complex for the large-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia. The H2-Hub^TM Gladstone facility will be built in stages to integrate up to 3 GW in electrolysis plant, and up to 5,000 tonnes per day ammonia production capacity.

“The integration of mature technologies – such as electrolysis and ammonia synthesis – at industrial scale, powered by 100 per cent renewable power supply, meets the emerging demand for decarbonised products in the energy, chemicals and mobility markets of North Asia,” Attilio Pigneri CEO and Founder of H2U said. He sees Queensland as well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities from this new industry, in part due to its strong existing trading relationships with Japan.

According to Attilio, Gladstone was an obvious choice for locating industrial-scale green hydrogen and ammonia facilities due to its existing skill base, industrial port eco-system, and strategic location in the Queensland grid. Through the government-run land use planning and property development agency, Economic Development Queensland (EDQ), H2U has purchased a 171-hectare site at Yarwun in the Gladstone State Development Area, which is in close proximity to the export precinct at Fisherman’s Landing.

“The progressive and well-structured planning framework applicable to State Development Areas such as Yarwun, was also a key factor in our selection of the project site,” Pigneri said. “With the land in Gladstone secured under contract the project will now move into master planning and detailed feasibility, targeting approvals by 2023 and first operation in 2025.”

The project could potentially translate into a major bonanza for the city, creating over 100 operational jobs and driving new exports for green hydrogen and ammonia. Ultimately, it could turn Gladstone into the hydrogen export powerhouse on the back of Queensland’s solar, wind and biomass resources, existing gas pipeline infrastructure and developed export infrastructure.

A big step was made last year when Queensland celebrated Australia’s first-ever delivery of green hydrogen to Japan. The fuel was exported by JXTG, Japan’s largest petroleum conglomerate, with hydrogen produced at QUT’s solar cell facility at the Queensland government’s Redlands Research Facility.

Previously, the Queensland government committed $750,000 for a feasibility study into producing hydrogen using solar energy from central Queensland and exporting it to Japan via Gladstone. In a separate initiative, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced it was providing $2.9 million in funding to two studies in Queensland looking at the potential to use solar and wind-powered hydrogen produced via electrolysis to increase ammonia production at facilities which currently rely on gas as feedstock.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-australia.com, and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-australia.com )

The Denham hydrogen plant will be powered by solar.

Image: Horizon Power

The coastal town on Denham could be on the way to become zero emissions thanks to a green hydrogen demonstration project proposed by WA’s regional utility Horizon Power. The hydrogen plant powered by solar energy will supplement existing wind turbines, which already produce 60% of the town’s electricity.

Located in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, Denham’s existing power supply is a combination of a Horizon Power owned and operated diesel facility, and a Synergy wind farm. Both assets are aging and in need of replacement.

Horizon Power has sought expressions of interest from companies for the supply of the hydrogen electrolyser and fuel cell and to design and construct of the plant. It is also looking at state and federal funding for the trial, while supporting the State Government’s Renewable Hydrogen Strategy by investigating the possibility of demonstrating the use of hydrogen as a future source of energy for the town.

“As part of our commitment to deliver cleaner, greener energy to our regional customers, we want to investigate the potential to develop a hydrogen demonstration plant to test the suitability and capability of hydrogen as a renewable energy source for electricity generation in the future,” Horizon Power Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Unwin said.

If the project is determined to be viable, construction would begin in February 2021. “Proving the reliability of such a hydrogen plant provides the opportunity to expand the plant to supply the full power requirements for the town in the future,” Urwin added.

Last year, the WA Government launched a strategy to set course for the state’s renewable hydrogen future with a focus on four strategic investment areas: export, use of renewable hydrogen in remote applications, blending in the gas network and use in transport. To support projects on ground, the authority last month opened a $10 million Renewable Hydrogen Fund and made cash available to feasibility studies, demonstration or capital works projects, to facilitate private investment.

Last week, the state government set aside $1.68 million in funding from the Renewable Hydrogen Fund toward the support of seven renewable hydrogen feasibility studies, including an electrolysis production plant and solar hydrogen for waste collection.

“Western Australia needs to explore how we can produce, use and provide energy to our international partners through clean and reliable sources – renewable energy via hydrogen provides a means to do this,” Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan said. She noted the government received 19 feasibility study applications of which it chose seven, which confirmed the strong interest of developing a renewable hydrogen industry in WA.

On the ground, Canadian gas giant ATCO is already blending renewable hydrogen into the on-site natural gas network at its solar and battery hydrogen innovation hub in WA. The blend will be used throughout the Jandakot depot as the first step in exploring the potential of hydrogen for home use in gas appliances.

Last year, a massive green hydrogen production project was unveiled for Western Australia with Siemens on board as technology partner. The project proposed by Hydrogen Renewables Australia (HRA) aims to produce green hydrogen for local industry and export to Asia from up to 5,000 MW of combined wind and solar capacity.

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-australia.com , and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-australia.com ).

Green hydrogen can be produced through electrolysis from any low-cost energy source.

Image: Siemens

Hydrogen cost competitiveness is closer than previously thought and scaling up existing hydrogen technologies will deliver competitive low-carbon solutions across a wide range of applications by 2030, finds a new report published by Hydrogen Council. Yet, to reach this scale, there is a need for investment, policy alignment, and demand creation.

As scale-up of hydrogen production, distribution, as well as of equipment and component manufacturing continues, cost is projected to decrease by up to 50% by 2030 for a wide range of applications, making hydrogen competitive with other low-carbon alternatives and, in some cases, even conventional option, finds the report prepared by global consultancy McKinsey. To deliver on this opportunity, supporting policies will be required in key geographies, including Australia, together with investment support of around US$70 billion.

“Based on real cost data from the industry, the analysis shows that a number of hydrogen solutions can become competitive until 2030 already.” says Bernd Heid, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company. “Out of 35 use cases analysed, at-scale hydrogen can be the lowest cost low-carbon solution in 22 use cases – such as in the steel industry and heating for existing buildings. And it can beat fossil-based solutions at scale in 9 use cases – for example in heavy-duty transport and trains.”

2030 promise

Strong fall in the cost of producing low carbon and renewable hydrogen is one of the main drivers of this cost trajectory and hydrogen produced via electrolysis is identified as one of the areas where investment until 2030 would make the biggest difference. According to the report, achieving competitive renewable hydrogen from electrolysis will require the deployment of aggregated 70 GW of electrolyzer capacity, with an implied cumulative funding gap with grey production of $US20 billion.

In an earlier analysis, Wood Mackenzie also identified 2030 as the year when green hydrogen, produced primarily by solar electrolysis, would reach cost parity. According to the consultancy, renewables hydrogen could reach parity in Australia, Germany, and Japan by 2030, based on US$30/MWh renewable electricity and 50% utilization hours for electrolyzers.

In production, the cost of low-carbon and/or renewable hydrogen production will fall drastically by up to 60% over the coming decade, the Hydrogen Council report states. This can be attributed to the falling costs of renewable electricity generation, scaling up of electrolyzer manufacturing, and the development of lower-cost carbon storage facilities. Although it identified the same drivers behind falling costs, the International Energy Agency (IEA) was more conservative in its forecast. Its earlier analysis showed that the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable electricity could fall around 30% by 2030.

“2020 marks the beginning of a new era for energy: as the potential for hydrogen to become part of our global energy system becomes a reality, we can expect fewer emissions and improved security and flexibility. This announces the decade of hydrogen,” said Benoît Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide and Co-chair of the Hydrogen Council. “A clean energy future with hydrogen is closer than we think, because the industry has been working hard on addressing key technology challenges.”

While often touted as the missing link in the energy transition, hydrogen has seen false dawns before. Declaring 2019 a critical year for hydrogen, the IEA said hydrogen was enjoying unprecedented momentum around the world. This was corroborated by the emergence of hydrogen roadmaps and strategies from around the world, which all suggested a large scale and rapid deployment of hydrogen technologies is expected from around 2030 onwards.

In Australia, state and federal energy ministers have given a tick of approval to the National Hydrogen Strategy prepared by chief scientist Alan Finkel and voiced support for a $370 million fund for green hydrogen projects. However, against high expectations of the country’s hydrogen export potential, The Australia Institute’s analysis has suggested that Australia has overhyped the potential demand for hydrogen exports by a factor of up to 11.

At the Friday meeting in Perth, the COAG Energy Council agreed to the National Hydrogen Strategy, which is expected to pave the way for a hydrogen economy that would enhance Australia’s energy security, create jobs and build an export industry valued in billions. The federal government used the meeting to announce $370 million would be directed to a new fund aimed at developing Australia’s hydrogen industry.

The money to bankroll green hydrogen projects will come from existing allocations to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), with the former tipping in $300 million and the latter $70 million. According to Energy Minister Angus Taylor, the funding will help Australia to realise its potential as a leading hydrogen supplier to key export markets, particularly in Asia.

Despite positive aspects, the National Hydrogen Strategy remains “technology-neutral”, with both hydrogen produced using renewable energy and the one via fossil fuels with “substantial” carbon capture and storage (CCS) in the game. Throughout the consultation process, Australia’s Chief Scientist Alan Finkel continued to push Australia toward hydrogen produced by solar and wind, but also remained attached to the fossil fuel-CSS idea. The stance was reflected in the Strategy itself.

Notwithstanding the efforts by ACT Energy Minister Shane Rattenbury on Friday to change the strategy so it only supported green hydrogen, federal resources minister Matt Canavan said after the meeting the government would be encouraging all forms of hydrogen creation, including production using brown coal.

“A decade ago the fossil fuel industry promoted clean coal using CCS and now it is promoting hydrogen using the same unsuccessful technology. CCS projects have repeatedly failed to live up to promises, both domestically and globally, and missed their targets by a very large margin time and time again,” Merzanin said. “The only way to make hydrogen truly sustainable is to produce it using water and powered by renewable energy sources. Australia has time to establish and lead a global renewable hydrogen industry and should focus research and development efforts in that area exclusively.”

This article originally appeared on pv-magazine-australia.com and has been republished with permission by pv magazine (www.pv-magazine.com and www.pv-magazine-australia.com