Hydrogen

Geelong oil refinery owner Viva Energy remains on track to become a producer of green hydrogen using solar energy after signing a landmark deal with US-headquartered hydrogen vehicle company Hyzon Motors to work together to provide zero-emission vehicles coupled with hydrogen refuelling solutions in Australia.

The University of New South Wales along with several other universities and the CSIRO are embarking on a feasibility study into how New South Wales can utilise excess renewable energy to make fuel, chemicals and feedstocks for industry. The aim is to develop a plan for how fuels and chemicals such as green hydrogen and ammonia produced from renewables can decarbonise industry and grow manufacturing.

Oil and gas exploration and development company Real Energy continues to pursue its hydrogen ambitions, entering into a key partnership with Port Anthony Renewables to build and develop a large-scale hydrogen production facility in eastern Victoria.

Australian Gas Networks (AGN) has revealed detailed plans to introduce renewable hydrogen into the existing natural gas networks in both Victoria and Western Australia after the first production of green hydrogen at its $11.4 million Hydrogen Park South Australia.

Like a flight simulator for power system designers, the Hitachi ABB facility is now in the hands of the Northern Territory’s Charles Darwin University where it will help build knowledge and capability on the Territory’s road to 50% renewable electricity by 2030.

Renewable-hydrogen research at Swinburne University of Technology and CSIRO gets a boost from the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund, as the state drives toward a net-zero-emissions future.

Sydney-based developer Genex Power has secured a $147 million funding package from the Queensland Government to finance a new transmission network link which will connect the proposed 250 MW Kidston pumped hydro storage project in northern Queensland with the main grid.

Researchers from Swinburne University and China’s Shaanxi Normal University have managed to develop a novel catalyst for highly efficient production of green hydrogen from seawater via solar. This catalyst, which required researchers to invent a prototype device called a ‘Ocean-H2-Rig’, highlights the potential of this technology and that we are only just now starting to scratch the surface.

The Queensland government, via its state-owned CS Energy, has signed an MoU with Japanese engineering company IHI Corporation to assess the feasibility of a renewable hydrogen plant next to CS Energy’s coal-fired Kogan Creek Power Station on Queensland’s Western Downs.

National Energy Resources Australia has actioned its instructions from the 2019 National Hydrogen Strategy by investing an initial $1.75 million in 13 regional clusters across all states and territories designed to establish Australia’s global identity in hydrogen technology and expertise.