A hydrogen strategy unveiled by the NSW government aims to attract more than $80 billion of investment and help the state hit net zero emissions by 2050.
Key points:
- Premier Dominic Perrottet and billionaire Andrew Forrest will unveil the plan in Sydney today
- The new hydrogen strategy signals a transition away from coal in NSW
- It's expected the plan will attract investment from growing overseas markets
The strategy provides up to $3 billion in incentives for green hydrogen production, including tax exemptions, and incudes plans for a "hydrogen refuelling highway" between Melbourne and Brisbane.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet unveiled the blueprint at a media event with mining magnate Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest in Sydney this morning.
In a statement, Mr Perrottet said the plan would create tens of thousands of jobs and secure NSW as an "energy superpower".
"Our major trading partners see hydrogen as part of their energy future, this state has the skills, infrastructure and renewable energy resources to compete globally," he said.
"And we have, obviously, an obligation to protect the environment for generations to come."
Earlier this year the Clean Energy Council warned NSW risked falling behind other states — of all which have established hydrogen deployment funds — if it did not develop a comprehensive plan of its own.
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean told ABC Radio Sydney the strategy would boost domestic supply and attract investment from growing overseas markets.
"Germany is going to spend 900 million euros ($1.41 billion) to import clean hydrogen by 2030 and we know Japan, South Korea and China have all said that hydrogen is going to be key to powering their economies," he said.
"I want to make sure NSW wins the race to supply those markets.
"Domestically, big industrial users will be able to transition to provide clean products ... companies like BlueScope and Tomago, those big employers."
The state government has already committed $70 million to develop hydrogen hubs in the Hunter and Illawarra regions.
Central Coast based hydrogen research and development company, Star Scientific, welcomed the announcement.
"Coming off the back of earlier announcements such as the gazettal of the Hunter and Central Coast as a Renewable Energy Zone ... the eyes of the world are on the region," global chair Andrew Horvath said.
"There is much heavy industry that will require green hydrogen to decarbonise."
Opposition energy and climate change spokesman Jihad Dib described the strategy as a significant step forward.
Last month, the NSW government under then-premier Gladys Berejiklian announced plans to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
That decision was made against a backdrop of growing division within the federal Coalition over a national plan for net zero by 2050.
The new hydrogen strategy signals a transition away from coal, which remains the biggest export for NSW.
Mr Kean said demand for coal was declining rapidly around the world, and hydrogen provided a natural hedge as the change took place.
"We envisage that the hydrogen industry will be bigger than the coal industry by 2050," he said.
This year, UK-based climate and energy think tank, Ember, found emissions from Australian coal burnt overseas released was double the country's domestic greenhouse gas footprint in 2020.
The not-for-profit is funded by philanthropists and aims to accelerate a global energy transition away from coal.
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2021-10-12 23:09:53Z
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