Australia unveils $50 billion plan to lead global green hydrogen market

Australia aims to develop a domestic green hydrogen industry and export clean hydrogen to become a global leader in hydrogen, the government of one of the world’s largest LNG exporters has said. he said on Friday.

The Australian Government today released a new National Hydrogen Strategy which sets out the goals and actions that need to be taken to support the development of a large-scale Australian hydrogen industry.

Key to the government’s plan is funding from an estimated US$5.4 billion (A$8 billion) in this year’s federal budget.

The government said the funds will be used to support a tax incentive programme for green hydrogen production and an expanded Green Hydrogen Headstart programme.

Australia plans to invest as much as $15 billion (22.7 billion Australian dollars) to become a renewable energy superpower over the next decade and strengthen the country’s economy based on key minerals, the Labour government he said in May this year.

With the new hydrogen strategy unveiled today, the government expects the incentives to unlock $33.6 billion (AUS$50 billion) of private sector investment in the clean hydrogen industry. Under the plan, Australia’s annual domestic production capacity is set to exceed 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030. It envisages possible annual production targets of 15 million tonnes by 2050, supported by five-year milestones.

The government says Australia is already well-positioned to become a world leader in green hydrogen. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that more than 20% of the world’s announced hydrogen projects are in Australia.

“As our industry grows, it will deliver further and greater benefits to communities, support broader economic growth and be a key lever for Australia as we work towards net zero emissions,” said Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy.

“It sends a clear signal to trading partners about the future market for hydrogen and hydrogen fuels in Australia. We are already seeing the benefits of this through enhanced trade agreements with key partners such as Germany.”

Author: Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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