Australian Hydrogen Headstart: Six shortlisted green hydrogen projects with a capacity of more than 3.5GW received a total of $1.35 billion in subsidies

Australia's Hydrogen Headstart program, which has six green hydrogen projects selected for a total capacity of more than 3.5GW, received 2 billion Australian dollars, or about $1.35 billion in subsidies. The final subsidized projects, which are expected to be announced by the end of 2024, will receive hydrogen production credits (hereinafter referred to as: HPC) - hydrogen production credits, with quarterly grants starting in 2027 for a 10-year period.

The HPC subsidy does not set a fixed amount, and developers are required to provide a dollar value per kilogram of hydrogen (or one of its derivatives) to reflect the difference between green and gray hydrogen. At the same time, the projected life cycle output of the project is also submitted to set the maximum amount of funding.

The six finalists are listed by cell capacity as follows:

1, Murchison Hydrogen Renewables Project Murchison Hydrogen Renewables Project (1,625MW)

Project developer: Murchison Hydrogen Renewables (funded by Denmark's Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners)

Project location: Western Australia

Hydrogen use: Ammonia

2, Port of Newcastle Green Hydrogen Project (750MW) 2, Port of Newcastle Green Hydrogen Project

Project Developer: Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco)

Project location: New South Wales

Hydrogen use: Ammonia

3, Central Queensland Hydrogen Project (720MW)

Project developer: Stanwell Corporation, the Queensland Government's power generation company

Project location: Queensland

Hydrogen use: Ammonia

4. Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub (250MW)

Project developer: Origin Energy, a utility company based in Sydney

Project location: New South Wales

Hydrogen uses: Ammonia, transportation

5. HIF Tasmania eFuel Facility HIF Tasmania Efuel Facility (144MW)

Project Developer: HIF Global (Chilean synthetic fuel producer)

Project location: Tasmania

Use of hydrogen: synthetic fuel

6. H2Kwinana (105MW)

Project developer: British Petroleum

Project location: Western Australia

Hydrogen uses: Ammonia, sustainable aviation fuel, mineral processing

Australia's leading hydrogen developers Fortescue and Intercontinental Energy had expected to participate in the application but were unsuccessful and may have been disappointed.

Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) CEO Darren Miller said at the announcement of the Australian government's nominally shortlist that Hydrogen Headstart is key on the path to ensuring Australia becomes a global leader in hydrogen, creating new export opportunities for Australia. And help decarbonize the Australian economy. The selected applicants provide Australia with the best opportunity to accelerate the development of the renewable hydrogen industry.

Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said renewable hydrogen was critical to achieving net zero emissions while creating economic opportunities for regional Australia. Australia has the largest pipeline of renewable Hydrogen projects in the world, and as Australia transforms into a renewable energy superpower, Hydrogen Headstart aims to support these projects to become a reality.

Fiona Simon, chief executive of the Australian Hydrogen Council, congratulated the Australian government on the urgency with which it moved ahead with the application this year. She said that there is a huge pipeline of Hydrogen energy projects in Australia, and even projects that failed in this round of Hydrogen Headstart will be more competitive and strive for success in future rounds. 2024 will be a defining year for Australia's hydrogen industry and the Australian government, with the alignment of key policies sending the right signals to investors to help realise Australia's ambitions as a renewable energy superpower.

The six shortlisted projects have until June 27, 2024 to submit a full Phase 2 application to participate in the Hydrogen Headstart start-up program.