South Australia

Following promising initial drill results from its Ramsay natural hydrogen project, Gold Hydrogen has signed two industry deals to collaborate on a proof-of-concept natural hydrogen pilot on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. If successful, it would be Australia’s first natural hydrogen project.

The South Australian government is looking to fast-track the development of grid-scale battery energy storage systems across the state, launching a process that promises to provide successful projects with exemptions that could “significantly” improve project timelines.

Australian natural hydrogen explorer Gold Hydrogen says it has confirmed an “active natural hydrogen field” in South Australia with purities nearly matching those accidentally discovered 100 years ago. The results come from Australia’s first dedicated natural hydrogen exploration well.

Global gas and engineering giants ATCO and BOC Linde have been named preferred partners to deliver a $593 million (USD 374 million) hydrogen production, power plant and storage facility at Whyalla in South Australia.

Australia’s largest electricity transmission project EnergyConnect has taken another step towards completion with the arrival of two 120 MVA capacity synchronous condensers that will sit at the heart of the Buronga substation in western New South Wales.

South Australia-based Sparc Hydrogen will use federal government funding to fast track the development of next generation photocatalytic technology to produce commercially viable green hydrogen from water using concentrated solar.

Diesel trains have been retrofitted with batteries and are now running from Adelaide stations, in the latest of a spate of sustainable transport trials in the South Australian capital. This includes trials with fully electric trains and the beginning of trials with hydrogen-powered and pure electric buses.

The Queensland Parliament has passed new legislation that will see hydrogen pipelines regulated in the same way as fossil fuel gases, creating clearer regulatory pathways and safety assessments for hydrogen projects.

Registrations for the South Australia and Victorian Capacity Investment Scheme, Australia’s new zero-emissions storage underwriting program, have opened today.

With the regulatory scaffolding around natural hydrogen starting to be erected across the country, the Western Australian government has confirmed it will charge a royalty on hydrogen extracted from underground geological formations, otherwise known as natural or gold hydrogen.