The development of the Australian hydrogen industry has reached a milestone with the beginning of a two-year trial which will blend clean hydrogen into New South Wales’ gas networks.
Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction, Angus Taylor, has welcomed the development from energy infrastructure company Jemena, which is producing hydrogen from renewable energy at its $15 million Western Sydney Green Hydrogen Hub project.
“This is a major milestone for the development of the Australian hydrogen industry,” Mr Taylor said.
“This trial is an important step in getting clean hydrogen into the existing gas network and into New South Wales homes and businesses.
“Blending hydrogen into gas networks gives Australians choice and allows them to continue to enjoy the benefits of using gas while producing an even lower emissions product.
“Building domestic demand is critical to helping the industry scale up and achieve the goal of producing hydrogen at under $2 a kilogram.”
The Australian Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has supported the Jemena Green Hydrogen Hub with $7.5 million to build a 500kW demonstration hydrogen electrolyser in western Sydney.
The two-year Jemena trial will convert solar and wind power into renewable hydrogen via electrolysis; the process by which electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The Government released a National Hydrogen Strategy in 2019, which sets out a vision for Australia to become a major global hydrogen supplier by 2030.
The Government is investing more than $1.2 billion to accelerate the development of an Australian hydrogen industry, including $464 million to develop up to seven clean hydrogen industrial hubs in regional Australia.
Clean hydrogen could directly support 16,000 jobs by 2050, plus an additional 13,000 jobs from the construction of related renewable energy infrastructure.
Australian hydrogen production for export and domestic use could also generate more than $50 billion in additional GDP by 2050.
