Tassie’s chance to power up with hydrogen

TASMANIA’S bid to become a world leading ‘green’ hydrogen producer could be supercharged by a $370 million fund to kickstart the industry in Australia.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor will announce the Federal Government’s new Advancing Hydrogen Fund today, which will include $300 million in concessional loans for big projects.

Another $70 million will be set aside for grants to help launch smaller projects.

It will be allocated from existing funds in the Federal Government’s ‘green bank’, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, with the smaller allocation to come from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.

The announcement comes after all states and territories yesterday signed up to the National Hydrogen Strategy, which plots a road map for Australia to become a major player in the hydrogen export market, tipped to be worth more than $13 billion within 20 years.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Tasmania was “well placed to be a leading player” in generating and exporting the sustainable fuel source.

The national hydrogen strategy, which state Energy Minister Guy Barnett signed up to yesterday in a ministerial meeting in Perth, aims to create ‘hydrogen hubs’ across the country.

Other key priorities are to forge agreements with other countries that have a high demand for hydrogen, and establish domestic demand for the fuel source, such as in light vehicles, buses and trucks, passenger ferries, or remote power supplies, such as the Bass Strait island power stations.

Tasmania’s hub will be based around a hydrogen production plant the state is planning to build at Bell Bay.

The new fund comes just three days after the Hodgman Government released its own Tasmanian Renewable Hydrogen Action Plan.