The Queensland government is calling on all industry stakeholders to add their two cents about taking hydrogen to the people.
Transport, automotive, energy, technology, manufacturing and other industries have until October 17 to respond to the Advancing Queensland’s hydrogen industry discussion paper.
The discussion paper aims to indentify the key areas where the Palaszczuk government, including development, manufacturing, infrastructure and planning minister Cameron Dick, can “assist” in establishing a “sustainable hydrogen industry”.
“There is a further potential to convert Queensland’s sunshine and wind into hydrogen so that Queensland becomes a major exporter of renewable energy,” the department says.
The government wants to exploit its solar, wind, gas pipeline and port infrastructure and the fact Japan imports 94% of its energy, to the advantage of Australia’s energy economy.
The Queensland Budget 2018-19 has set aside $750,000 to “investigate opportunities to produce and supply hydrogen at a competitive price to alternative energy sources,” the department reports, adding how the hydrogen market is expected to reach US$155 billion in the next three or four years.
“South Korea, Japan, the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom have all made significant commitments towards…established programs to support the rapid scaling up of the commercial hydrogen energy industry,” the paper states, “This includes supporting uptake of hydrogen fuel cell passenger vehicles”.
According to the department, Queensland’s Renewable Energy Expert Panel estimates 5500 megawatts of renewable energy capacity would be need in the decade 2020-2030 to satisfy the state’s 50% renewable energy target.
“Hydrogen’s capacity to store renewable energy means it could play a pivotal role in Queensland’s electricity network,” the paper adds.
However, not everybody is convinced of the green merits of the plan to upscale hydrogen.
John Cadogan says Australia “desperately needs a green hydrogen industry”.
Mechanical engineer and journalist John Cadogan is skeptical about just how clean these hydrogen intentions are.
“If you think hydrogen is green, today, you have not been paying attention,” he says.
“The cars are available now, or they will be soon, and they are potentially very clean.”
Cadogan says in his latest report, “We desperately need a green hydrogen industry,” but expects governments to “greenwash” the “properly filthy, bordering on environmentally disgraceful” industrial process for producing hydrogen en masse.
“Until we have massive solar collectors – square kilometres of solar arrays – busily harvesting sunlight and electrolysing water on a scale that would make Snowy Hydro look like a drop in the Great Southern ocean, don’t waste my time with nonsense claims that hydrogen is clean or green,” he says bluntly.
