This Month
Fortescue near settlement with US tycoon after energy deal bust-up
Andrew Forrest will avoid a seven-hour courtroom deposition by agreeing to settle Fortescue’s dispute with US billionaire Paul Tudor Jones.
New projects revive hopes for east coast hydrogen exports
Two projects at Newcastle, worth about $2 billion, are out to prove that Australia’s clean hydrogen vision isn’t dead – it will just require a more pragmatic approach.
June
Fortescue’s hydrogen chief moves on in accelerating green energy pivot
The country’s third-largest iron ore producer has been shifting its priorities toward low emissions steel since announcing it would slow its push into hydrogen.
May
King reveals details of critical minerals stockpile, vows it will pay
Australian miners will not be compelled to sell critical minerals into the federal government’s stockpile, though the resources minister believes it will generate revenue for the country.
March
Asia’s hydrogen hopes in Australia suffer another blow
Korea’s largest electric utility has failed to secure funding from the federal government’s Hydrogen Headstart for a project in Newcastle.
Labor quietly diverts $75m from hydrogen-powered truck scheme
Getting more hydrogen-powered trucks to carry freight was a key plank of Chris Bowen’s plan to decarbonise the road transport sector. It hasn’t turned out that way.
Forrest allegedly chased coal plant buy to ‘influence’ key US senator
Internal documents suggest Fortescue considered a $200 million deal based on its relationship with a US politician, whose IRA support was crucial to it passing.
February
Twiggy’s Time Magazine puff piece: a hat-trick of hot air howlers
You wouldn’t know from the puff piece TIME magazine ran on Andrew Forrest that the green hydrogen dream suffered a hat-trick of setbacks last week.
Fortescue reconsiders US hydrogen timeline after Trump win
The Andrew Forrest-led mining giant has cut its green energy capex and is considering pausing $1 billion of approved hydrogen projects in Australia and the US.
Messages reveal Forrest blasting executives over ‘most stupid’ deal
The communications were released in court proceedings over a failed plan to buy coal plants in Ohio and West Virginia and run them on clean-burning hydrogen.
Hydrogen backers push ahead as Qld flagship project crumbles
Chris Bowen described the Crisafulli government’s decision to drop funding for the state’s most advanced project as “surprising and disappointing”.
January
Drilling for ‘natural hydrogen’ an enormous opportunity: Labor
Naturally occurring hydrogen has been detected in Tumut and parts of western NSW, raising government hopes it can be extracted from the ground like natural gas.
Australian hydrogen hopefuls catch a break from US tax credit rules
Local proponents of the green fuel have been encouraged by the US government’s billions of dollars in tax credits which now come with fewer conditions attached.
December 2024
‘Negative and wrong’: Green hydrogen players rebut Coalition claims
Green hydrogen advocates have pushed back on assumptions the industry won’t exist by 2050, which is a central premise underpinning the Coalition’s nuclear modelling.
Fortescue executive chairman Andrew Forrest in his own words
After The Australian Financial Review sent 50 questions following an investigation, the iron ore billionaire and green energy advocate sat down for an interview.
Inside the ‘unending chaos’ at Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue
After a frenetic world tour, the billionaire had to wind back his hydrogen plans. A Financial Review investigation looks at what led to an exodus of executives.
October 2024
Singapore gives early green light to Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Sun Cable
The venture intends constructing a large solar plant in Australia’s north before shipping power to Singapore using an undersea cable.
Huge cost cuts needed in solar for hydrogen to work: ARENA
The cost of solar power needs to fall by about two-thirds for green hydrogen to work in Australia, says ARENA CEO Darren Miller.
Homes in Albury, Gladstone to use gas-hydrogen blend
About 40,000 homes and businesses Albury-Wodonga will get 10 per cent hydrogen mixed in with their gas next year, in one bright spot for the clean hydrogen industry.
Why hydrogen is better than batteries for long-distance trucks
H2X is focusing the rollout of its hydrogen-powered trucks on Europe and Scandinavia where incentives and refuelling are better.