Resources player QEM hopes to launch a hydrogen project at its flagship project in Queensland

The rush to develop hydrogen as a clean source of power is quickly gathering pace. Find out who the main players are.

POWERING UP

The rush to develop hydrogen as a clean source of power is quickly gathering pace.

Just four months after the Queensland Government created a dedicated ministry for what is the most abundant element in the universe (seriously!), a $25m fund is bankrolling at least four projects across the state.

Another player joined the fray this week when listed resources outfit QEM Ltd said it hoped to launch a “green’’ hydrogen project at its flagship Julia Creek vanadium and oil shale project in northwest Queensland.

The company, formerly known as Queensland Energy & Minerals, claims it’s now sitting on one of the world’s largest deposits of vanadium at a 250 sqkm site east of Cloncurry. That’s a metallic element considered ideal for long-term energy storage in batteries.

Assuming the hydrogen concept clears hurdles associated with capital and operating costs, QEM boss Gavin Loyden said the project would initially be solar-powered and used to support the needs of other resources projects in the state’s “North West Minerals Province”.

Gavin Loyden

Ultimately, it could be deployed for the hydro-generation of the company’s raw oil into transport fuels.

“The commissioning of these studies will lay the groundwork to advance our green hydrogen strategy at Julia Creek amid increasingly buoyant market conditions and the project’s optimal ¬location and resource profile to produce hydrogen on site,” Loyden said.

“Crucially, the hydrogen strategy aligns with the broader strategic direction of Julia Creek as QEM looks to target both the liquid fuels and renewable energy sectors.”

The company, based at Surfers Paradise, launched in 2014 and floated four years later after raising $5m ahead of its IPO. But it’s had a rough trot since then, most recently reporting a $665,000 loss in the half-year to December.

Meanwhile, both Sun Metals and Origin Energy are working on separate hydrogen facilities in Townsville.

Australian Gas Networks, as well as a joint venture between Stanwell and Japanese industrial firm Iwatani Corporation, are focused on building hydrogen plants in Gladstone.

Somewhat more modest efforts are playing out in the south east corner.

The University of Queensland plans to ditch two diesel-powered shuttle buses with electric versions powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

Spicers Retreat in the Scenic Rim hopes to power their eco camps with a hydrogen plant, storage systems and fuel cells.

DAMNED IF YOU DO

Late ecowarrior Steve Irwin made an unusual discovery back in 1990 when he was fishing with his dad in the Burdekin River system.

The pair found a turtle unlike anything they had ever seen before, taking a few photographs to document their find before releasing it back into the waters.

It took another three years before scientists determined it was in fact a new species that has lived in the rivers west of Mackay for millions of years.

Greenies now allege that the little critter, commonly known as “Irwin’s turtle,’’ faces an existential threat from the planned $670m Urannah Dam, which they claim will destroy its natural habitat.

Irwin's turtle

The 1.5 million megalitre dam on the Broken River is the centrepiece of a $2.9bn irrigation and hydro-electric power scheme which has the backing of both the state and federal governments.

Construction is scheduled to kick off next year, with proponents claiming it will deliver water security and provide power for regional agricultural and mining activities.

It’s expected to create up to 1200 full-time jobs during construction and another 675 when completed, making it Queensland’s second largest dam.

But the Mackay Conservation Group has not given up the fight against the project, which was first proposed in the 1960s and has been the subject of numerous feasibility studies now gathering dust on shelves somewhere.

Group spokesman Peter McCallum told us this week that he and his fellow activists aim to raise $20,000 to keep up the fight and have already received nearly half that amount.

Irwin’s son, Robert, is in their camp and has called for the dam to be scrapped “out of respect’’ for his father.

Critics, who say plenty of other wildlife will be impacted, also claim the economics don’t stack up.

Last year, they retained an independent economist to study the business case for the project and he found it would generate just 26 cents in benefits for every dollar it cost.

Some of the traditional owners have also objected.

BURIAL BLUNDER

Detail matters.

Just ask the operators of two funeral homes, who have each copped $12,600 fines from the consumer watchdog for making false and misleading claims about their ownership.

Coventry Funeral Homes, trading as Fitzgerald’s Funerals in Townsville, advertised itself until recently as “locally owned and operated’’. WT Howard Funeral Services in Taree did likewise.

AYR, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 25: The hearse carrying entertainer Sydney Devine arrives at Alloway Parish Church for his funeral service on February 25, 2021 in Ayr, Scotland. Scottish singer, Sydney Devine, was born in January 1940 in Bellside, a settlement near Cleland, North Lanarkshire. He recorded 51 Albums during his career and was best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles". In 2003 he was made a Member of the British Empire for services to music. He died in February 2021. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

But, in fact, both are part of Propel Funeral Partners, a listed group with 130 funeral homes across Australia and NZ. It claims to be the second largest provider of “death care services,’’ overseeing more than 13,000 cases in the last financial year.

In announcing the penalties on Wednesday, ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said the action was the first in what she called “an enforcement priority area’’.

Propel, which just delivered an $8.2m net profit in the half-year to December, did not respond to a request for comment.

TRADEMARK DUST UP

A Brisbane fast-food operator has just registered the name “In-N-Out Aussie Burgers,’’ triggering a potential trademark battle with the American owner of the famous chain.

A company called Rich Asians Pty Ltd, run by Indian national Puneet Ahori, already operates several outlets across the city selling seafood, doughnuts, wings and fried chicken.

But the In-N-Out Burger group based in California is famously thin-skinned when it comes to protecting the sanctity of its well-known brand.

CBX: Down N' Out opens their Halal restaurant in Bankstown: Classic double burger.Picture: @goodfoodieguide

The company, which has previously won numerous legal battles shutting down copycats, operated a few highly-successful pop-up stores across Australia early last year but has yet to establish a bricks-and-mortar presence.

Brisbane trademark lawyer Nicole Murdoch told us this week that In-N-Out can protect its intellectual property here even though it has yet to open traditional stores.

“I fully expect anyone trying to cash in on the In-N-Out name can expect to see lawyers before they see customers as the American chain protects its brand Down Under,’’ said Murdoch, who does not act for either of the parties.

Ahori could not be reached for comment.