Central Queensland Hub

Overview

The Central Queensland region as a whole covers the major cities of Mackay, Gladstone and Rockhampton, as well as the Central Highlands and western central towns of Emerald and Longreach; much of the industrial activity of relevance to hydrogen industry development in the region is centred around Gladstone and its associated Port.

The Gladstone State Development Area, located north-west of Gladstone, is a defined area of land dedicated for industrial development and materials transportation infrastructure and comprises 26,934 hectares of land adjacent to the Port of Gladstone.  The Gladstone State Development Area is currently home to an alumina refinery, a chemical manufacturing complex, several LNG export businesses, a waste oil refining plant, and a waste management and recycling facility.

The Port of Gladstone is a natural deepwater harbour and Queensland’s largest multi-commodity port, with eight main wharf centres comprising 20 wharves in total.

The region also contains an emerging renewable energy industry which would be supported by the proposed Central Queensland Renewable Energy Zones. The four proposed Renewable Energy Zones within the Central Queensland region would provide a framework which supports renewables-based hydrogen production in the Central Queensland area.

Funding

The Australian Government, through its Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program – Hubs Implementation funding stream, has awarded up to AUD$69.2 million to Stanwell Corporation which, as Lead Applicant for the Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub consortium (local, national and international companies and organisations seeking to develop a hydrogen industry in the region) will collaborate with other Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub participants to develop an implementation plan for the proposed concept.  Stanwell Corporation is also a leading participant in developing the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project.

In October 2023, in a joint release, the Australian and Queensland Governments announced they had reached agreement for the Australian Government to invest AUD$69.2 million to develop the Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub in Gladstone. The release noted the hub could enable up to 292,000 tonnes per annum of hydrogen production by 2031.

The Queensland Government has provided AUD$15 million from the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund to progress the FEED study of the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project.

The Queensland Government, through its Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, has allocated AUD$15 million to progress hydrogen hubs in the State.

Projects

The Gladstone area is host to a considerable number of projects listed on HyResource, with several being large-scale projects focussed on export potential (e.g., ammonia and liquid hydrogen).

 

Updated: November 2023