Ambitious Hydrogen Industry Mission plan aims for global leadership
Australia plans to turbocharge its hydrogen industry into the world’s biggest exporter by 2030 under a research taskforce led by the CSIRO.
Australia plans to turbocharge its hydrogen industry into the world’s biggest exporter by 2030 under a research taskforce led by the national science agency and industry players including Fortescue Metals.
The Hydrogen Industry Mission, to be launched on Wednesday, aims to cut the cost of hydrogen production to under $2 per kilogram, from up to $9 per kilogram currently, and position Australia to replicate its success with iron ore and LNG through a new clean fuel export business.
Up to 8000 jobs and $11bn a year in GDP could be fed back into the economy if the right settings and cost structures are put in place, according to the CSIRO.
“Australia can become a renewable energy leader through the production, use and export of hydrogen, but it will only become a reality if we breakthrough the $2 a kilogram barrier,” CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall said.
“That needs Australia’s world class science working with CSIRO’s commercialisation expertise turning breakthrough science into real-world solutions.”
The CSIRO will work on more than 100 projects with partners including Fortescue, Toyota and Hyundai through development of a knowledge centre, feasibility and strategy studies, demonstration projects and the development and commercialisation of new hydrogen technologies.
Green hydrogen is nearing cost competitiveness for heavy trucking, buses and remote power, with the potential to become commercially viable across other transport sectors as early as 2030, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation will say on Wednesday.
“Our experience in developing the solar and wind sectors shows that prices decline rapidly as a new industry reaches scale and technical proficiency. It is encouraging to see a similar trajectory for the exciting hydrogen sector,” CEFC chief executive Ian Learmonth said.
Fortescue, chaired by billionaire Andrew Forrest, has told shareholders the company plans to bet big on green hydrogen and ammonia in the future, flagging their rise as substitutes for diesel as well as in grid-scale energy generation.
CSIRO noted the iron ore giant’s ambitious hydrogen plans.
“Fortescue has been a tremendous partner in areas of breakthrough research and a real trailblazer for industry. Because they know how to turn great Aussie science and ingenuity into engineering that really works,” Mr Marshall will tell the Australian Hydrogen Conference in Sydney on Wednesday.
“Chairman Andrew Forrest recently unveiled global ambitions to develop massive renewable power resources to produce green hydrogen, making Fortescue a ‘first mover’ on green hydrogen and other green products including steel, and becoming one of the world’s largest green energy and product businesses.
“But more than that, Fortescue is becoming a major contributor to climate innovation, and we are fortunate to call them our partner in that innovation.”
The Australian Hydrogen Council said the tie-up would help join up a string of initiatives across different parts of industry.
“We need a co-ordinated series of investments in industrial-scale research and demonstration activities, along with the supporting research and infrastructure that can bring the technologies that are available and emerging to the industry that needs to deploy them,” Australian Hydrogen Council chief executive Fiona Simon said.
Seven hydrogen hubs will be created under the Morrison government’s blueprint spanning Western Australia’s Pilbara through to the industrial heartlands of NSW’s Hunter Valley, Victoria’s Latrobe Valley and South Australia’s Whyalla.
The hubs aim to crystallise billions of dollars of investment pledged by high-profile ASX-listed companies, private investors and some of the biggest international energy names.
Australia is pinning its hopes on a slew of hydrogen hubs and carbon capture projects – backed by some of the nation’s biggest renewable investors – as part of a technology-led solution to reach net zero emissions. The government has set out a goal for Australia to become a major global hydrogen player by 2030 and a top-three exporter of the fuel to the Asian markets.
In WA’s Pilbara, best known for its lucrative iron ore reserves, one of Australia’s biggest green projects is being built. The Asian Renewable Energy Hub – a $US36bn ($46bn) proposal that will dwarf every other renewable energy project in the country – aims to build one of the world’s biggest large-scale green hydrogen projects.
A major green hydrogen hub announced on Tuesday proposed for Western Australia’s Gascoyne region and led by French giant Total Eren is one of several on the cards as foreign investors flock to the technology.
The Japanese government has also invested in a hydrogen supply chain project in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley while Origin Energy has signed plans to build a giant hydrogen export plant in Townsville backed by Japan’s Kawasaki.
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