In Australia, seven companies have been shortlisted to support hydrogen projects. In April, the Agency for Renewable Energy (ARENA) opened the financing round worth 70 million Australian dollars (43 million euros). The aim is to accelerate the development of renewable hydrogen and achieve the government's “H2 under $2” plan.
The successful applicants to date include APT Management Services Pty Limited (Sydney), engineering services provider for energy, mining and heavy industry, ATCO Australia Pty Ltd (Perth), investor in the energy, construction and transport sectors, among others, Australian Gas Networks Limited (Adelaide) , operator of natural gas pipelines and distribution networks, also BHP Billiton Nickel West Pty Ltd (Kalgoorlie-Boulder City), parent company of a number of companies in the mining, oil and gas sectors, Engie Renewables Australia Pty Ltd (Melbourne), local subsidiary of the French Energy group Engie, Macquarie Corporate Holdings Pty Limited (Sydney), subsidiary of the British investor Macquarie, and the oil and gas group Woodside Energy Ltd. (Perth).
The cumulative grants requested by the seven companies amount to over $200 million (122 million euros), with a total project value of almost $500 million (304 million dollars).
According to ARENA, the applicants have “well-developed projects in the areas of, among other things, transport, gas feed-in, production of renewable ammonia, electricity and industrial uses that include the use of electrolyzers with an output of ten megawatts or more.” The shortlisted applicants include four projects in Western Australia and one each in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.
The funding is ultimately intended to support “two or more of the shortlisted large-scale renewable hydrogen projects.” Each project must be powered by electricity from renewable sources, either directly or through a contracting approach.
During the application phase, ARENA received 36 expressions of interest with an investment volume of more than three billion dollars. “Our ultimate goal is to lower the price of renewable hydrogen to be competitive with other forms of energy and to lead the way in renewable hydrogen production,” said ARENA CEO Darren Miller. The best way to achieve this is to support projects “that help deploy the technology at scale and share the lessons learned to help the industry as a whole reduce risks and costs and increase efficiency.”
Applicants in the final round have until January 2021 to optimize their project proposals. ARENA wants to make the selection by mid-2021. Successful projects must then secure financing by the end of 2021 and begin construction in 2022. All applicants may also be considered for financing through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) as part of the $300 million Advancing Hydrogen Fund.
The financing round for the development of renewable hydrogen announced by ARENA in 2019 followed the publication of the National Hydrogen Strategy.
ARENA has previously committed more than $55 million to renewable hydrogen projects, including $22,1 million for research and feasibility studies for large-scale projects and small-scale demonstrations in ammonia, power-to-gas and hydrogen mobility.
Deep link:
https://arena.gov.au/news/seven-shortlisted-for-70-million-hydrogen-funding-round/
https://arena.gov.au/funding/renewable-hydrogen-deployment-funding-round/
Photos:
In Australia, seven companies are still in the running for funding of $70 million / © ARENA
