Oz Sets Up A$300mn Hydrogen Fund
The Australian government has established A$300 ($190)mn funding to support hydrogen-powered projects, it said on May 4. The A$300mn Advancing Hydrogen Fund will be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
According to the government, CEFC will seek investment in projects included in the Arena Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Funding Round. The Arena round is a A$70mn grant programme aiming to demonstrate the technical and commercial viability of hydrogen production at a large-scale using electrolysis.
“Hydrogen has the potential to make a substantial contribution to our clean energy transition, reducing emissions across the economy while underpinning the development of an important domestic and export industry. Hydrogen is an extremely versatile energy carrier which is gaining significant support worldwide as the fuel of the future,” CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said.
The CEFC Advancing Hydrogen Fund will draw on existing CEFC finance. In line with the CEFC Act, projects seeking CEFC finance through the Advancing Hydrogen Fund are required to be commercial, draw on renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or low emissions technologies and contribute to emissions reduction.
Through the Advancing Hydrogen Fund, the CEFC expects to provide either debt or equity finance to eligible larger-scale commercial and industrial projects, typically requiring A$10mn or more of CEFC capital.
The upstream lobby group Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (Appea) May 5 welcomed the development. Appea CEO Andrew McConville said the natural gas industry was well-placed to assist in the development of a large-scale and innovative commercial hydrogen industry, both in using natural gas to produce hydrogen and using gas infrastructure to process and transport hydrogen.
“Australia’s LNG export success story means our industry has the technology, expertise and commercial and trade relationships to make hydrogen exports a reality,” McConville said. “There is tremendous interest globally in hydrogen as a new, cleaner fuel. Australia is well placed to capitalise on our already abundant natural advantage.”
McConville added a number of Appea members are already exploring these opportunities. “We support strong partnerships across government, industry and the research community to ensure Australia makes the most of the opportunity arising from this emerging technology,” he said.
Earlier this month, Woodside signed an agreement with Japanese companies Jera, Marubeni Corporation and IHI Corporation to undertake a joint study examining the exports of hydrogen as ammonia to decarbonise coal-fired power generation in Japan.