Three eco-friendly hydrogen projects in Australia protected funding

• The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has actually selected three commercial-scale green hydrogen projects that will share in AU$ 103 million (US$ 79.7 million) of funding to sustain their growth.

The projects, readied to be released in Victoria and Western Australia, will certainly include 10MW electrolysers, making them amongst the biggest sustainable hydrogen demos on the planet, ARENA stated.

A project from French energy Engie will get AU$ 42.5 million as well as be paired with a solar park to generate sustainable hydrogen in a collaboration with Yara Fertilisers at an ammonia facility in Western Australia.

Gas company ATCO has safeguarded AU$ 28.7 million to create hydrogen for gas blending at an additional site in Western Australia, while Australian Gas Networks will be provided with AU$ 32.1 million, also for a gas blending project, at its Murray Valley Hydrogen Park in Victoria.

The 3 recipients must now please a number of growth conditions and attain economic close before funding is launched, with building and construction on the installments anticipated to commence in 2022.

ARENA Chief Executive Officer Darren Miller stated the winning projects will aid kickstart eco-friendly hydrogen manufacturing in Australia at a big scale. "Our hydrogen sector in Australia is in its early stage, so the lessons picked up from these 3 projects-- and the whole funding round-- will certainly be very important in driving our future hydrogen economic situation."

Originally revealed in 2019, ARENA's H2 support program shortlisted 7 business from 36 applicants last year and also has given that boosted the funding envelope to back three projects, as opposed to the two initially prepared.

Trade body the Clean Energy Council welcomed the added financing and claimed environment-friendly hydrogen "can be an essential component" of Australia's low-emissions future. "The delivery of these projects is important to the scale-up of Australia's hydrogen industry. They'll increase our expertise and also ability advancement and obtain us on the way to driving down the prices of eco-friendly hydrogen manufacturing," stated the Clean Energy Council's supervisor of energy generation, Anna Freeman.

Australia's federal government has established a target of creating eco-friendly hydrogen at AU$ 2/kg, where it says it would be affordable against hydrogen created from nonrenewable fuel sources.

Recent developments in the country's green hydrogen room have seen Canadian firm Amp Energy expose prepare for a AU$ 2 billion hub that will certainly include PV projects linked to a hydrogen facility, while South Australia has protected an exhausts reduction contract with the federal government for locations such as hydrogen.

As federal governments raise their support for eco-friendly hydrogen and also more projects are announced, study from both the International Renewable Energy Agency and IHS Markit anticipates that renewables-powered H2 could be cost-competitive with incumbent methods by 2030.