(Canberra / Australia) – The Australian government is providing further funding for hydrogen projects. 150 million Australian dollars (93 million euros) are intended to support the establishment of hydrogen hubs at seven locations as part of the “Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hubs” program. This brings the funds available from this program to $464 million (€287 million). Of this, three million dollars are earmarked as grants for planning work and feasibility studies and another 70 million dollars are earmarked for launching individual projects, according to a paper.
“Government funding is designed to help de-risk projects and quickly reach the scale needed to establish new export industries and meet the growing energy needs of the Indo-Pacific region,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison. These hydrogen centers would create jobs across Australia.
Hydrogen centers at seven locations
The seven locations for hydrogen centers are specifically named: Bell Bay in Tasmania, Pilbara in Western Australia, Gladstone in Queensland, La Trobe Valley in Victoria, the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, Hunter Valley in New South Wales and Darwin in the Northern Territory. Large projects are already in progress in precisely these areas, although Morrison did not explicitly name them or link them to the funding.
For example, Tasmanian Ports Corporation Pty Ltd. (TasPorts) with the Fortescue Future Industries Pty Ltd signed an option agreement for the use of land in the port city of Bell Bay. FFI is planning to build a plant there to produce green hydrogen with an output of 250 megawatts.
In Pilbara, the initiators of the “Asian Renewable Energy Hub” (AREH) want to build one of the world's largest wind and solar projects with an installed capacity of initially 36 and later 25,6 gigawatts for 15 billion Australian dollars (26 billion euros). The majority of the electricity generated is used to produce green hydrogen and ammonia for the domestic and export markets. Electrolysers with an output of 14 gigawatts will use green electricity and desalinated seawater. However, there was a temporary delay in this project Faults between the Morrison central government and the Western Australia government.
In Gladstone, the British solar project developer Eco Energy World plc (EEW) wants to combine a photovoltaic project with 300 megawatts of output with a green hydrogen production plant. An electrolysis output of 200 megawatts is initially planned. The total cost is around 500 million Australian dollars (324 million euros).
On the Eyre Peninsula, the Australian Hydrogen Utility Pty Ltd (H2U) is developing the “Eyre Peninsula Gateway Project” for green hydrogen and ammonia. H2U works with the RWE subsidiary RWE Supply & Trading GmbH is working to establish a hydrogen trade between Australia and Germany, with the planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Brunsbüttel being named in April as an ideal location for importing hydrogen to Germany.
Darwin, in turn, is the first destination for a project by the Singaporean company Sun Cable. As part of the Australia-Asia Power Link (AAPowerLink) project, the founders and multi-billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest want nothing less than the world's largest solar power plant with an output of 36 to 42 gigawatts, which has now been expanded again, along with a battery with a capacity of 17 to Install 20 gigawatt hours.
The location is the town of Elliot, a village of 350 people in the middle of the desert on the Australian north-south lifeline Stuart Highway. The electricity is then sent to Darwin in the north of the country for economic development. Part of it goes to Singapore via a more than 4.000 kilometer long submarine cable. Indonesia, through whose territorial waters the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system passes, has recently welcomed the project and approved further exploratory work. The AAPowerLink is designed to meet up to 15 percent of Singapore's electricity needs.
Australia wants to become a big player in the hydrogen industry
“Hydrogen hubs are critical to achieving the Morrison Government’s vision of making Australia a major global player in hydrogen production and exports by 2030,” said Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. “The development of Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hubs would help the emerging industry achieve the goal of producing hydrogen for less than $2 (1,25 euros) per kilogram, as envisaged in the government's Technology Investment Roadmap.
The associated Clean Hydrogen Industrial Hub Grants program is primarily intended to broker international partnerships and initiatives that accelerate the use of hydrogen and other priority low-emission technologies. The collaboration is part of the announced new partnerships with Germany, Singapore, Japan and Great Britain in these segments.
Activating a regional hydrogen industry
While the hydrogen program is Australia-wide, the seven sites were selected "based on strong industry interest and activity, as well as the existing capabilities, infrastructure and resources" of each site.
Two funding programs support these projects. For the Hub Development and Design Grants program, consortia led by the hydrogen industry with conceptual proposals for hydrogen centers can apply for grants of between $500.000 and $XNUMX million.
Companies can receive additional grants from the “Activating a Regional Hydrogen Industry” program. There is funding for regional developments amounting to 30 to 70 million dollars as part of the national hydrogen strategy.
Both programs aim, among other things, to provide clean hydrogen to build domestic supply chains, create export routes and support existing industries, but also create new industries based on the local availability of clean hydrogen.
deep link
https://www.pm.gov.au/media/future-hydrogen-industry-create-jobs-lower-emissions-and-boost-regional-australia
https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/hydrogen-hubs-development-grants
https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/hydrogen-hubs-implementation-grants-round-1
Photos
Australia provides further funding for hydrogen centers. © Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
