The Australian Government will invest $2.0 billion in the new Hydrogen Headstart program, providing revenue support for large-scale renewable hydrogen projects through competitive hydrogen production contracts.
This investment will accelerate development of Australia’s hydrogen industry, catalyse clean energy industries, and help Australia connect to new global hydrogen supply chains, to take advantage of hydrogen’s immense jobs and investment potential.
The Program will help bridge the commercial gap for early projects and put Australia on course for up to a gigawatt of electrolyser capacity by 2030 through 2 to 3 flagship projects.
A further $2 million over 2 years will be provided to help First Nations communities engage with hydrogen project developers.
Unlocking a vibrant domestic hydrogen industry is critical to our vision of being a Renewable Energy Superpower.
How will it work?
The program will use a competitive process, to select large Australian-based projects producing either hydrogen from renewable energy or derivative products made from hydrogen produced from renewables, such as ammonia.
Successful projects will have the opportunity to receive funding as a production credit that will cover the current commercial gap between the cost of hydrogen produced from renewables and its market price. This should enable producers to offer hydrogen to users at a price that will encourage them to switch to using this clean fuel.
The funding is expected to support the delivery of up to 2-3 large hydrogen projects, scaled to need up to 1000 MW of electrolyser capacity.
The program will be developed over coming months in consultation with industry.
The program is expected to be open for expressions of interest in the first quarter of 2024. Following assessment, successful applicants will be awarded contracts and provided with ongoing payments over a 10 year period from 2026-27.
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Register for updates on the Hydrogen Headstart Program.