In 2019, Australian energy ministers shared a vision for an innovative Australian hydrogen industry and later the government released the National Hydrogen Strategy.
Clean hydrogen is seen as a critical part of Australia’s technology-led approach to reducing emissions while creating jobs and achieving economic growth. The Australian Government has so far committed over $1 billion to clean hydrogen and aims to cement Australia’s role as a world leader in the industry, becoming one of the world’s largest hydrogen suppliers by 2030.
Governments will continue to work with industry to overcome any barriers to development. This work focuses on 3 areas: • building demand • achieving low-cost hydrogen production at scale • reducing hydrogen delivery costs. Australia believes it has all the ingredients needed to be a major hydrogen producer and exporter, including: • abundant and cheap renewable energy resources
• geological storage resources
• a proven track record as an energy exporter
The Australian Government is actively collaborating with trading and strategic partners to try to fulfil their promises and aspirations as nations move to decarbonize their economies. Co-investment models will be used by partnerships in recognition of the distinct roles that export and import markets play in the sector. They currently have various collaborations with partners like Germany, Japan, Korea, Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom, which will continue to be built upon. Transport Transport with hydrogen in Australia is still in its beginning phases however, there are several challenges need to be overcome. These include refuelling infrastructure and stations, cheaper vehicles needed, and cheaper hydrogen supply. There are slightly over twelve Australian projects in development which will focus on hydrogen use in transport and developing the fuelling infrastructure. Australia does have a brief plan and identified a few opportunities for hydrogen vehicles:
• Industrial users such as ports or remote industrial sites
• Transportation methods like fleet cars and public transportation
• Freight-moving vehicles
To organize all of these efficiently, they plan to create hydrogen hubs where vehicle producers, hydrogen producers, and fuel suppliers can connect.
New Zealand and China
From the Government report and national strategy, Australia's main focus, seems to be on being a main producer and exporter as this industry is developing quicker and advancing more than transport, electricity and other sectors( table1: State of Hydrogen 2021).
This could also be an option for New Zealand. While it would be better to implement hydrogen into our transport systems. It may be more feasible to be an exporter and support other countries that are unable to produce hydrogen locally. New Zealand's export of hydrogen has the potential to aid international decarbonization efforts. As a fuel of the future with low emissions, green hydrogen might be created in New Zealand using its abundant renewable energy resources.
In regards to China, hydrogen hubs can be something they may want to emulate from Australia as they allow for efficiency and collaboration in regards to heavy vehicles. Hydrogen hubs can help drive the costs of hydrogen down faster, and increase demand.
