Hunter and Illawarra Hydrogen Hubs EOI process attracts eight times expected potential investment
Hydrogen Hubs will be pivotal in helping NSW scale up the emerging green hydrogen industry by working with industry to support innovation and minimise the cost of infrastructure.
The Hunter and Illawarra Hydrogen Hubs have received major commercial interest with more than $4 billion in potential investment proposed in response to a recent call for expressions of interest.
Hydrogen hubs will combine demand from existing and emerging hydrogen users to deliver hydrogen in a coordinated fashion that will drive scale, reduce costs, focus innovation, grow our workforce skills and decarbonise our hard to abate sectors.
Acting Premier Paul Toole said this huge commercial interest shows how much the regions are set to benefit with renewable energy and new low carbon technologies.
“Hydrogen Hubs will provide huge economic benefits for the Hunter and Illawarra, helping to secure jobs of the future,” Mr Toole said.
The Hydrogen Hubs also represents a huge export potential for our state, with the international market for green hydrogen expected to meet 24 per cent of the global energy demand by 2050, estimated to be worth $900 billion, Acting Premier Toole continued.
Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean said the overwhelming response includes private sector plans to develop up to 5,900MW of electrolyser capacity, more than eight times the 700MW target.
“The market has spoken. This is an overwhelming level of commercial interest and it shows our policies are sending the right signals to energy investors, making NSW the go to state for energy investment,” Mr Kean said.
“Twenty-one individual projects have told us they want to produce almost 268,000 tonnes of green hydrogen each year, which is enough to fuel 26,000 trucks. Hydrogen is integral to decarbonising many parts of the economy, including heavy industry and heavy transport.”
The NSW Government has committed $70 million to accelerate the development of Hydrogen Hubs in NSW, under the NSW Government’s $1 billion Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program.
The Hunter and Illawarra regions are being prioritised as they are critical regions for our state economy and have strong credentials to be our first green hydrogen hubs. They already produce and use hydrogen at large scale and have existing skilled workforces, heavy manufacturing bases, access to electricity networks, gas infrastructure and existing export facilities.
Providing government support in these locations now, will have the greatest impact in accelerating the growth of the green hydrogen industry in NSW while helping future proof and secure decarbonised jobs in these critical regions.
By 2030, NSW has set targets to be producing 110,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. The Strategy aims to help NSW reach this 2030 target by assisting private industry transform NSW into Australia’s largest consumer of green hydrogen and attract over $80 billion of investment by 2050.
