Australia’s 2024 National Hydrogen Strategy – breaking through commercial barriers for the production of renewable hydrogen, encouraging innovation, and deepening international trade partnerships.
Australia is now positioned to further solidify its leadership as a global hydrogen leader with the release of its 2024 National Hydrogen Strategy. The strategy provides a comprehensive framework that will accelerate the production of hydrogen, enhance export opportunities, and help the country move into a net-zero future. At the heart of the strategy is a vision to overcome the commercial challenges of renewable hydrogen, unlocking both economic and environmental opportunities for Australia and its international partners.
Key points of the 2024 National Hydrogen Strategy:
The 2024 strategy builds upon the 2019 one and takes into account changes in global markets, technologies, and Australia’s increasing influence in hydrogen innovation. Among key measures are the incentives to be introduced for the production of hydrogen, which will include the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive and the Hydrogen Headstart Program with the goal of lowering the costs of green hydrogen production and attracting large-scale investments in the sector.
A key feature of the strategy is its focus on developing supporting infrastructure, including hydrogen hubs in key regions such as Pilbara, Gladstone, and the Hunter Valley. These hubs are being developed to enable low-cost production, storage, and transportation of hydrogen to allow Australia to become a large-scale exporter of hydrogen.
The government also aims to solve one of the major challenges faced by hydrogen: it is extremely costly to make. As new innovations in photovoltaic and wind systems continue to lower the price of renewable energy, this plan will push the entire price of making hydrogen lower as well. Other aspects wherein Australia’s substantial investment in R&D will focus its efforts are increasing the efficiency of electrolyzers and discovering alternative ways of making hydrogen.
Economic Growth and International Partnerships
The Australian government has targeted a $50 billion private sector investment, which should increase the production of over 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030. The country is expected to reach the target of 15 million metric tons annually by 2050. This will create thousands of jobs and make Australia a critical supplier in global hydrogen markets, especially under bilateral agreements with Germany.
A key element of this approach will be to enhance the export capacity of Australia, with a focus on enabling international trade in hydrogen. The enlargement of the GO scheme will increase the level of assurance from buyers over the environmental value of the Australian hydrogen, and new infrastructure development, including refueling stations and export terminals, will allow Australia access to high-value international markets.
Community and Workforce Engagement
The Australian government will focus on community engagement and workforce development as the hydrogen industry develops. Its strategy includes programs that will help build a “hydrogen-ready” workforce through education and retraining to prepare workers for the skills required in this new sector. It also plans to ensure First Nations communities have an opportunity to participate in the economic benefits that come with the hydrogen economy.
Conclusion
The 2024 National Hydrogen Strategy paints a bold vision for Australia’s clean energy future, strong on production cost reduction, driving innovation, and building skill, all of which bring Australia to the forefront as a world leader in the hydrogen market. By bridging both domestic and international challenges that create the commercial gap, Australia will unlock sizeable economic and environmental benefits in its hydrogen industry.
