The COAG Energy Council and ARENA power ahead with hydrogen
National Strategy and funding support adaptive approach that equips Australia to scale up quickly as the hydrogen market grows.
Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy sets out the actions for the development of a clean, innovative, safe and competitive hydrogen industry that benefits all Australians.
Australia is well positioned to seize Asia’s growing demand for clean hydrogen and become a major global player by 2030. To capture this opportunity, governments, industry and the community will need to work together to foster investment and innovation.
A key element in this plan will be to create ‘hydrogen hubs’ – clusters of large-scale demand that will provide the industry with its springboard to scale. Building a clean hydrogen industry will deliver skilled jobs and new career paths many in regional areas and billions of dollars in economic growth between now and 2050.
To read the National Hydrogen Strategy, go here.
The COAG Energy Council Hydrogen Working Group strategy was released in tandem with with an announcement by ARENA regarding practical implications of Government investment.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) funding round of up to $70 million to help fast track the development of renewable hydrogen in Australia.
ARENA’s hydrogen funding round is expected to play a material role in supporting commercial-scale deployments of renewable hydrogen in Australia.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said while Australia is in a good position to become a major exporter of renewable hydrogen, this funding will help to kickstart a domestic hydrogen industry, by driving down the cost of producing renewable hydrogen at scale.
“The hydrogen sector is still in its infancy, and while key technologies like electrolysers are available, there are few large scale systems deployed and they are still expensive.”
“There is a need to develop local skills, supply chains and delivery capabilities of large scale renewable hydrogen projects. ARENA’s support can help to establish this new industry as well as progressing research and development to unlock greater cost reductions and efficiency improvements. Knowledge shared from the projects funded under this round will be vital for the industry.”
To read more about ARENA funding hydrogen projects, go here.
