Talking Point: World watching as Tasmania kickstarts clean hydrogen industry
Tassie is in the box seat as countries seek reliable renewable energy, says Guy Barnett
Opinion
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Countries across the world are looking for cleaner, low-cost, reliable forms of energy as they seek ways to reduce their carbon footprint, and Tasmania has the answer.
With global demand dramatically increasing, Tasmania’s nation-leading renewable energy industry provides us with a significant opportunity and a natural advantage.
To kickstart this process the Tasmanian Government has opened the expression of interest process into a $50 million support package to build a renewable hydrogen industry. This industry development support package, the biggest in the nation, will stimulate investment in the renewable hydrogen industry, creating hundreds of jobs and injecting billions into our economy, particularly in regional areas. We will invest $20 million through a Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Fund, provide up to $20 million in concessional loans and up to $10 million in support services which include competitive electricity supply arrangements and payroll tax relief.
Our funding aligns with the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s (ARENA) $70 million hydrogen funding round.
Hydrogen, the lightest and most abundant element in our universe, is an excellent carrier of energy and can be used for a broad range of energy applications, including as a transport fuel, a substitute for natural gas and for electricity generation. It can be used in chemical production and metals processing.
Hydrogen can be produced from water using electrolysis. Using Tasmania’s abundant, reliable renewable energy, we can produce hydrogen with zero emissions — green hydrogen — making it very attractive to markets including Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China.
The Tasmanian Government has been working with proponents and has hosted national and international delegations to Tasmania in recent months to investigate the unique opportunity that Tasmania provides.
Furthermore, thanks to Tasmania’s advantages including strong transmission infrastructure, significant water availability and access to deepwater ports, we can produce renewable hydrogen up to 15 per cent cheaper than from the mainland power grid, and up to 30 per cent lower than from dedicated off-grid renewable resources.
While other states are relying on coal-fired energy to produce hydrogen, Tasmania can produce reliable, cost-effective, large-scale emissions-free hydrogen, giving us an unparalleled competitive advantage.
The National Hydrogen Strategy indicates that by 2050 an Australian hydrogen industry could generate about 17,000 jobs and $26 billion in GDP nationally under a “hydrogen: energy of the future” scenario.
In March the Tasmanian Government released the Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan, which maps out our vision for Tasmania to be generating clean renewable hydrogen by 2022-2024, and to be commercially exporting hydrogen by 2030.
Bell Bay and Burnie have been identified as potential hydrogen hubs. A 1000 megawatt renewable hydrogen facility (about enough for 1 million households) was found to be feasible, creating an estimated 1000-1200 local jobs, and supporting a further 2000 megawatts of renewable energy investment in our state.
Bell Bay’s proximity to the new $329 million Blue Economy CRC, Australia’s largest ever Cooperative Research Centre, which brings together expertise in aquaculture, marine renewable energy and offshore engineering, provides a significant advantage to developing a renewable hydrogen energy industry.
With future wind resource expansion and pumped-hydro development, Tasmania has the capacity to establish a globally significant renewable hydrogen industry.
It plays to our strengths and competitive advantages, complements our Marinus Link and Battery of the Nation projects, and our commitment to taking real action on climate change and reducing emissions.
While Tasmania is on track to meet our target of being 100 per cent in renewable energy by 2022, we have set a world-leading target to double our renewable generation to 200 per cent of our current needs by 2040. This target is not only nation leading, it will put Tasmania at the forefront globally.
Renewable hydrogen offers opportunities including rolling out hydrogen buses, fleet vehicles, ferries and barges. It is also expected that private operators will readily take up the option to use renewable hydrogen once it’s commercially available.
The Tasmanian Government is getting on with driving investment and creating local jobs by realising our renewable hydrogen energy potential, which will be vital as we rebuild Tasmania’s economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Industry Development Funding Program and Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan can be viewed at the Department of State Growth, www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au
Lyons Liberal MHA Guy Barnett is Tasmanian Energy Minister.
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