Australia’s largest hydrogen project has secured the richest funding deal for the renewable energy sources to date, in a major coup for one central Queensland city.
The Australian’s Environment Editor Graham Lloyd says there’s “a lot of hype” around US President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi having agreements with Australia around green hydrogen technology.
“The thing is that it’s something everybody aspires to do – at this point in time; no one has actually been able to do it at scale and cost,” Mr Lloyd told Sky News host Peta Credlin.
The Central Queensland Hydrogen Project is Australia’s largest green hydrogen project and ranks in the top 10 globally at the pre-final investment decision stage, with plans to produce 200 tonnes of hydrogen a day by 2028.
The project will get a $117m funding boost for further development, with the cash coming from the state and federal governments and consortium partners, including Japan’s Iwatani Corporation, Kansai Electric Power Company and Marubeni Corporation, alongside Singaporean behemoth Keppel Infrastructure and Queensland’s own Stanwell.
According to the state government, the CQ-H2 project could produce 800 tonnes per day of “clean” green hydrogen by the early-2030s, which is enough to fuel Australia’s heavy vehicle fleet twice over.
Developing a green hydrogen export industry in Gladstone would also “create significant economic opportunities for Queensland”, with the project expected to create “almost 9,000 jobs and over $17.2bn in hydrogen exports over its 30-year life”.
Green hydrogen means the electrolysis process to split hydrogen from water uses energy from renewable sources. CQ-H2 will use wind and solar energy.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will provide $20m in funding, the state $15m, and the consortium partners will chip in $81.8m.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the partnership proved Queensland’s “dominant position” as a global hydrogen heavyweight. Federal energy minister Chris Bowen said projects such as CQ-H2 were “critical to scaling up Australia’s green hydrogen industry”.