Fund to put rocket under hydrogen sales

A $370m fund will be used to position Australia as a clean hydrogen “global player” by 2030.

Federal Minister for Energy Angus Taylor during a meeting of the nations energy ministers in Perth on Friday. Picture: AAP

A $370m fund will be used to position Australia as a clean hydrogen “global player” by 2030 after federal and state ministers agreed to a national strategy at the Council of Australian Governments Energy Council meeting in Perth.

Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor will announce the advancing ­hydrogen fund on Saturday in a move to turbocharge the industry by opening up existing funding through the Clean Energy ­Finance Corporation and Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

The fund, in addition to $13.4m already allocated to implement the national hydrogen strategy, takes the federal government’s commitment for the industry to more than $500m since 2015. Mr Taylor said the nat­ional­ strategy mapped out steps to ­develop a “sustainable and commercial­ hydrogen industry”.

“The government is backing that in through project investment to promote our outstanding potential as a hydrogen supplier to the world. Importantly, hydrogen can play a role in the future energy mix to bring down energy prices, keep the lights on and reduce emissions,” Mr Taylor said.

In the COAG national hydrogen strategy report approved by federal and state governments at Friday’s meeting, Australia’s Chief Scientist, Alan Finkel, said that to “meet future demand while avoiding the by-products of our current energy sources we have to find alternatives”.

The COAG meeting also dis­cusse­d summer readiness, gas mar­­ket transparency measures, the Climate Solutions Fund, reliability standards and renewable energy zones. “These will be a mix of primary energy sources such as solar and wind electricity, and second­ary energy carriers, of which hydrogen will make an essentia­l contribution as a high-density, zero-emissions fuel,” Dr Finkel said. “The potential to export­ clean hydrogen is substantial, with the International Energy Agency and the World Energy Council both identifying Aust­ralia as a potential hydrogen ­production powerhouse.”

Resources Minister Matt Canavan said he envisaged that by 2030 Australia would be a major global player by tapping demand for clean hydrogen. “There is potential for thousands­ of new jobs, many in regiona­l areas, and billions of dollar­s in economic growth betwee­n now and 2050, with key energy export markets, such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, taking action to diver­sify their ­energy sources,” Senator Canavan said.

“We can help them do just that. Australia is already one of the world’s largest and most reliable and trusted energy suppliers and hydrogen will be one more energy export we can supply to existing and new markets.”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said: “We are creating the appropriate policy and regul­atory settings to drive increased investment in hydrogen.”