Growing Australia's hydrogen industry

 

Australia’s ambition is to become a renewable energy super power, decarbonise our economy and increase clean energy exports to contribute to regional and global decarbonisation. Australian-made hydrogen will be essential to making our ambition a reality.

As a fuel hydrogen produces no carbon emissions, only water.

We can use it:

  • to blend with (or replace) natural gas for homes, industry and cooking
  • for fuel cells to generate electricity to power cars, trucks, buses and trains
  • to store energy and generate electricity for mining sites and remote communities
  • as an industrial chemical feedstock for products such as ammonia, fertiliser and iron
  • to trade clean energy with other countries.

Australia has an abundance of natural resources to make clean hydrogen for our own use and to supply the world.

Our vision is to build a clean, innovative, safe and competitive hydrogen industry that benefits all Australians. Since the release of Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy in 2019 there is now a $127 billion pipeline of announced hydrogen investment in Australia.

This includes over 15 projects that have passed final investment decision (FID) and over 80 announced renewable hydrogen projects. CSIRO managed HyResource maintains a database and map of these projects.

This pipeline of projects is diverse, with the potential to help revitalise manufacturing, support regional economies, create jobs, investment and trade opportunities, while helping Australia achieve its decarbonisation targets.

National Hydrogen Strategy Review

The Australian Government will be leading a Review of the National Hydrogen Strategy to ensure Australia remains on a path to be a global hydrogen leader by 2030 on both an export basis and for the decarbonization of Australian industries. Read Australia’s National Hydrogen Strategy.

Hydrogen Headstart Program

The $2b Hydrogen Headstart Program will provide revenue support to large-scale renewable hydrogen projects through competitive hydrogen production contracts. Find out more about the Hydrogen Headstart Program.

Annual Statement of Progress

The State of Hydrogen 2022 report finds Australia has the resources, technical skills, and track record with international partners to seize the opportunity to become a global hydrogen powerhouse.

Read the State of Hydrogen 2021 report.

HyResource, managed by CSIRO, also provides up to date information on hydrogen industry development in Australia with the latest news on private sector leadership and Government actions.

Partnering internationally to supply hydrogen

We are setting the foundations for Australia to be a major hydrogen exporter. We are doing this by partnering with other countries to attract investment, build supply chains and advance research and development.

More information on Australia’s international clean energy partnerships.

Guarantee of Origin scheme

We are working with industry to design and develop an internationally consistent Guarantee of Origin scheme for Australia.

Among other things, the scheme will support a future trade in clean hydrogen by informing customers about the emissions and other relevant attributes of the hydrogen they buy.

We have released a consultation paper on the proposed scheme policy design, and are holding industry trials to shape the scheme. These trials build on the results of a discussion paper released in 2021.

The proposed scheme design draws on our work with the International Partnership on Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE). Through the IPHE, we are working with other countries on methododologies to determine the carbon emissions of hydrogen and its derivatives (e.g. ammonia), transport and storage.

Building regional hydrogen hubs

Green hydrogen will be critical in our efforts to support hard-to-abate sectors, such as industrial processing (like fertilizer production) and transport, to reduce their emissions and achieve net zero. Green hydrogen is produced using renewable energy such as wind and solar.

Hydrogen hubs are regions where various producers, users and potential exporters of hydrogen across industrial, transport, export and energy markets are co-located. They will give our green hydrogen industry an early-stage springboard to scale, which will help support other industrial sectors in the regions.

The Townsville Hydrogen Hub and the $454 million Regional Hydrogen Hubs program will establish hydrogen hubs in places including Gladstone, Townsville, the Hunter, Bell Bay, and the Pilbara. These investments will help develop Australia’s green hydrogen industry and boost its decarbonisation efforts.

For further information email: HydrogenPrograms@industry.gov.au

Read the 2022-23 October Budget fact sheets: Creating jobs and spurring investment in new energy industries.

Improving Australia's hydrogen regulation

We are reviewing Australia’s regulatory frameworks to better support hydrogen industry development and safety.

This includes working with state and territory governments to:

  • review federal, state and territory laws that affect the hydrogen industry
  • identify regulatory barriers to hydrogen projects in Australia
  • recommend ways to address these barriers, and promote more efficient, certain and transparent hydrogen regulation.

One outcome of this review is the publication of a list of all key Commonwealth legislation which regulates the hydrogen industry and associated supply chain.

This review is also the basis for several initiatives to provide regulatory clarity to support the development of Australia's hydrogen industry.

You may contact the team leading this review by emailing nationalhydrogenregulatoryreview@dcceew.gov.au.

Better informing the market and Australians

HyResource and HyLearning

The Australian Government has funded CSIRO to develop and manage a one stop shop web portal called HyResource which is designed to inform the market and improve information and communication to the community.  

This helps the market understand what projects are underway, and what regulations and incentives exist at the national, state and territory government levels.

HyResource and HyLearning platforms also helps Australians understand:

  • the benefits and risks of hydrogen
  • how to use hydrogen safely
  • the benefits of a strong Australian hydrogen industry, including economic opportunities and lower carbon emissions.

Mapping Australia’s Hydrogen Future – the Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool

Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with Monash University, has developed a tool mapping the economic viability of hydrogen operations across Australia. The Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool (HEFT) helps policymakers and investors make decisions about the location of new infrastructure and the development of hydrogen hubs. Preliminary results show that economically viable regions for hydrogen production are located across Australia. All states and territories have regions with high potential.

Progressing the hydrogen industry

We are also:

  • completing a National Hydrogen Infrastructure Assessment
  • reviewing national gas laws and considering the regulatory reforms and economics of using hydrogen in gas networks
  • providing support for hydrogen pilots, trials and demonstrations via the Industry Hubs Program.
  • working with CSIRO to support the Australian Hydrogen Researcher Network (AHRN) and collaboration on hydrogen R&D, including the HyResearch website
  • working with Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Clean Energy Finance Corporation to de-risk investment in demonstration projects and share knowledge to encourage innovation.

Connect with us

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Contact us

Email hydrogen@dcceew.gov.au

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