Hydrogen

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.

French renewables giant Engie and Pilbara ammonia producer Yara have secured $2 million in funding from a West Australian Government seemingly determined to transform the state into a renewable hydrogen superpower.

Australian researchers have analysed different ways to improve the efficiency of PV-powered water electrolysis for hydrogen generation. They include the use of magnetic fields, light energy, ultrasonic fields, and pulsating electric fields. Energy costs remain prohibitive, but molecular movement and the redistribution of molecules in water during electrolysis could open a path to viability.

Last year the Western Australian Government called for Expression of Interest into its potentially 1.5 GW solar and wind hydrogen hub at Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area on the state’s Mid-West. This week it has been revealed that 65 companies from around the world have submitted serious interest in making it happen.

Chemical engineers at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney have made a significant technological breakthrough in the development of green ammonia. The breakthrough could not only alter the global ammonia industry, but more easily use solar to produce green ammonia for export to countries like Japan and Germany instead of straight hydrogen.

As the Smart Energy Council prepares to rollout the first pilot of its green hydrogen certification scheme, CEO John Grimes and consultant Scott Hamilton detailed the international discussions informing its architecture and what’s at stake for Australia’s export future.

The Hills International College and Golf Academy in Jimboomba, Queensland (QLD), which boasts former World Number 1 Jason Day as an alumnus, is partnering with Sydney-based renewable energy outfit Energy Estate to develop the Jimboomba Renewable Hydrogen Plant. 

Governments around Australia are hustling to transition their bus fleets to cleaner fuels such as green electricity or hydrogen. Companies around the world are hustling to ready their hydrogen buses to meet the demand.