Project HyCAN: A regulatory framework for common user infrastructure in hydrogen hubs (Australia) and hydrogen valleys (EU)

R&D Focus Areas:
Policy, Regulations

Lead Organisation:
Macquarie University

Partners:
University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Status:
Active

Start date:
November 2024

Completion date:
October 2025

Key contacts:
Jordie Pettit, PhD Candidate (Macquarie University), Professor Tina-Soliman Hunter (Macquarie University), Associate Professor Madeline Taylor (Macquarie University) and Assistant Professor Ruven Fleming (University of Groningen)

Funding:
AUD$72,230: Australian Government via the CSIRO International Hydrogen Research Collaboration Program

Project total cost:
AUD$72,230

Project summary description:
To progress more renewable hydrogen projects to financial close, new regulatory approaches in hubs and valleys are required to reduce risk and cost for the co-located infrastructure necessary for the production, storage, and distribution of hydrogen.

Drawing on a review of emerging common user infrastructure (CUI) regulation in Australia and infrastructure co-investment frameworks in the European Union (EU), Project HyCAN (enabling global Hydrogen Collaboration between Australia and the Netherlands), investigates the effectiveness of co-regulation and tools such as regulatory sandboxes for renewable hydrogen. Through a comparative study of hydrogen hubs in Australia, and hydrogen valleys in the EU, the project seeks to amplify return on public investment in renewable hydrogen by developing a legal framework for common user infrastructure.

A key outcome of the project is also to establish a ‘HyCAN Research Cluster’, which will facilitate knowledge sharing between The Transforming Energy Markets (TEM) Research Centre at Macquarie University and the Groningen Centre of Energy Law and Sustainability (GCELS). The HyCAN Research Cluster will promote the exchange of postgraduate students and academics to unlock opportunities for ongoing collaborative research in the field of hydrogen production, such as in the development of best practice regulation for offshore hydrogen production.

Related publications and key links:
None at this time.

Higher degree studies supported:
Not applicable.

 

June 2025