$2bn Hydrogen Program Launches In Australia's Budget

Australia wants to be a renewable energy 'superpower'. They plan to invest $2bn in a Hydrogen Headstart programme.

The 2023/24 Budget of the Federal Government had a spending package that included the production programme.

Australia has many renewable hydrogen projects. Hydrogen Headstart will help newer projects and make Australia a leading hydrogen producer and exporter.

The Government has given $38.2m for a new scheme. It will help markets for green energy, like hydrogen. The scheme is called Guarantee of Origin. Low emissions products will also be covered.

The Australian Government wants to electrify their economy and have energy-efficient buildings. They are also promoting clean and cheap energy. They plan to have 82% of renewables by 2030.

The Government wants to give $14.8m to make the Powering Australia Industry Growth Centre. This will help businesses in Australia make, sell and use renewable technologies.

A green bond programme is coming to support sustainable finance. $400m is going to the Industrial Transformation Stream. The aim is to grow clean energy industries in regional areas. It also aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing industries.

Australia has more than 100 projects regarding hydrogen, which are valued at $230-300bn. This marks around 40% of all the world's clean hydrogen project announcements. This data comes from the 2022 State of Hydrogen Report.

The Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, thinks the report is important. There are lots of projects in the report that haven't been confirmed yet. Only one project, out of 64, has been confirmed. Australia has over 100 active hydrogen projects.

The hydrogen pipeline in Australia needs $230-300bn of investment. You can read more about it.

Many countries want hydrogen. They are excited about the US Inflation Reduction Act. This Act has many incentives and credits. International companies want to come because of this.

Dominic Ellis works for H2 View as an Editor. He joined in August 2022 and has more than 25 years of editorial experience. He has worked for various business magazines and websites in the UK and the Middle East.