The Australian government said it had “agreed” to invest A$69.2 million ($43.7 million) in a hydrogen hub that would produce green hydrogen, store it underground and pipe it to local ports with a view to exporting it to Japan and Singapore.
In a pre-recorded speech played to delegates at the Asia-Pacific Hydrogen Summit in Sydney today, Australian Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said the Central Queensland Hydrogen Center (CQ) The first phase of construction of -H2) will begin “early next year”.
Bowen said the center will produce 36,000 tons of green hydrogen per year by 2027 and 292,000 tons for export by 2031.
“This equates to more than twice the fuel supply for Australia’s heavy-duty vehicles,” he said.
The project is led by Queensland government-owned power utility Stanwell and is being developed by Japanese companies Iwatani, Kansai Electric Power Company, Marubeni and Singapore-based Keppel Infrastructure.
A fact sheet on Stanwell’s website states that the entire project will use “up to 2,500MW” of electrolysers, with the initial phase to begin commercial operations in 2028 and the remainder to come online in 2031.
In a speech at the summit, Phil Richardson, general manager of hydrogen projects at Stanwell, said a final investment decision on the initial phase would not be made until the end of 2024, suggesting the minister may be overly optimistic.
South Australia selects developer for hydrogen project, which will receive more than $500 million in subsidies. The project will include solar electrolysers, a hydrogen pipeline to the Port of Gladstone, hydrogen supply for ammonia manufacturing, and a “hydrogen liquefaction facility and ship loading facility” at the port. Green hydrogen will also be available to large industrial consumers in Queensland.
The front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for CQ-H2 began in May.
Queensland Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said: “With Queensland’s abundant natural resources and clear policy framework to support green hydrogen, it is expected that by 2040, The industry will be worth $33 billion, boosting our economy, supporting jobs and helping to decarbonise the world.”
As part of the same regional hydrogen hub program, the Australian government has committed $70 million to the Townsville Hydrogen Hub in northern Queensland; $48 million to the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub in New South Wales; and $48 million to the Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub in New South Wales. $70 million each for the Pilbara and Kwinana hubs in Western Australia; $70 million for the Port Bonython Hydrogen Hub in South Australia (which also received an additional $30 million from the state government); $70 million $10,000 for the Tasmanian Green Hydrogen Hub in Bell Bay.
“Australia’s hydrogen industry is expected to generate an additional A$50 billion (US$31.65 billion) in GDP by 2050,” the federal government said in a release Create tens of thousands of jobs.”
Post time: Oct-30-2023