Hydrogen

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.

Korea Zinc Company Ltd., parent company of Townsville-based Sun Metals, has entered into a $17 million financing agreement with the 1,100km CopperString 2.0 transmission line project across North Queensland. The project, which received an $11 million boost from the Federal Government recently, would open up enormous tracts of land for the development of renewable projects and minerals.

Australian technology company Star Scientific has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Philippines’ Department of Energy in order to trace out the use of its game-changing HERO technology. The partnership could see Star Scientific transform every coal-fired power plant in the nation to green hydrogen while also utilising the technology to, among other things, provide clean, quick, desalinated water.

Australian-listed oil and gas exploration and development company Real Energy has continued its push into renewable energy, signing a joint venture agreement with private company Liberty Hydrogen to develop four large-scale hydrogen hubs on Australia’s east coast.

The Sumitomo Corporation has simultaneously signed a contract with an EPC for a solar-powered green hydrogen production plant in Gladstone, Queensland, while also commencing a feasibility study for a grey-green hybrid hydrogen project in Oman. Considering the relative similarities in distance between the two countries and export markets in East Asia, the Japanese conglomerate looks to be setting the stage for competition in the hydrogen economy.