An Australian first $4.2 million gas injection facility will be built in Gladstone to deliver renewable hydrogen into the city’s gas network.
That’s the first grant from the Queensland Government’s $15 million Hydrogen Industry Development Fund, supporting Gladstone’s vision to be a key hub for Queensland’s domestic and hydrogen export industry.
“Using renewable hydrogen, Australian Gas Networks (AGN) will trial the blended hydrogen gas with a view to converting Gladstone’s network to hydrogen in the future,” premier and trade minister Annastacia Palaszczuk says.
Zero-carbon hydrogen offers a pathway to zero emissions from AGN’s gas networks and for transport, particularly heavy haulage, its chief executive Ben Wilson says.
Speaking from the Gladstone Hydrogen Forum attended more than 100 stakeholders, state development minister Cameron Dick says AGN, part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), has been offered more than $1.7 million through the fund to build a blending facility to deliver 10% renewable hydrogen into the gas network.
Gladstone has also been selected for The Hydrogen Utility’s (H2U) latest project, H2-HubTM Gladstone, a proposed $1.61 billion industrial complex for the large-scale production of green hydrogen and ammonia, Dick says.
“Economic Development Queensland (EDQ) has approved a variation to ACCIONA’s Aldoga Solar Farm lease, to allow them to investigate renewable hydrogen production as part of the project. The variation allows an additional 24 months to explore feasibility.”
AGIG is a leading player in Australia’s transition with hydrogen projects now underway in four Australian states, according to Wilson.
“Queensland, and Australia as a whole, has the potential to be a renewable hydrogen superpower, with jobs and economic growth from supplying clean energy to Asia and elsewhere,” he says.
Gladstone mayor Matt Burnett says AGN had formed a partnership with Central Queensland University (CQU) providing access to the blending facility for CQU staff and students to build skills in hydrogen technologies.
“Gladstone is perfectly placed to tap into the exciting renewable hydrogen industry.”
CQU vice chancellor and president professor Nick Klomp says it is working towards establishing a hydrogen park in Gladstone to drive the many opportunities the emerging hydrogen industry will create.
