Future Energy Exports CRC

FUTURE ENERGY EXPORTS COOPERATIVE RESEARCH CENTRE

The Future Energy Exports CRC (FEnEx CRC) is an Australian not-for-profit organisation striving to decarbonise liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports and grow clean hydrogen production. Established in 2020 as a research-driven charity, the FEnEx CRC brings together 35 industry, government and university partners with resources of AUD$163 million to conduct industrial-scale research that supports LNG and hydrogen exports from Australia.

The CRC offers testing facilities to validate new technologies and develops evidence-based advice to inform government policy and social acceptance. The organisation also delivers education, PhD scholarship opportunities and facilitates knowledge exchange through workshops and monthly colloquiums.

The CRC has four research programs, of which one program (Program 2) is focussed on Hydrogen Export and Value Chains and another (Program 1) on decarbonising LNG export chains, including through the use of green hydrogen.

The CRC’s flagship project is the Kwinana Energy Transformation Hub, which aims to establish industrial-scale infrastructure for de-risking hydrogen and decarbonisation technologies, and is currently in the stage of final technical definition.

The hydrogen program takes cognizance that development of a hydrogen export industry in Australia will require ‘export class’ infrastructure systems, operations and procedures to be defined over the next decade. The program focusses on addressing the following research challenges:

  • Processing and delivery methods for cost-effective large-scale hydrogen export
  • Target export markets, including key applications and requirements
  • Supply chain architecture, design and operations
  • Export-class systems and technologies for hydrogen production, storage and delivery
  • Mapping future world-scale hydrogen export regions

The CRC has approved several hydrogen-related projects under Program 2, summaries of which can be found here (information current as at end September 2022).

Other (cross-cutting) research programs are seeking to improve the cost-effectiveness of energy exports, including hydrogen.

Research Program 3: Digital Technologies and Interoperability focusses on the development of the industry-wide standards necessary to ensure new digital technologies for use in both LNG and hydrogen export are interoperable and provide a platform for demonstrating that interoperability.

Research Program 4: Market and Sector Development focusses on the factors that drive market growth as well as the barriers that can hinder the development of supply chains and inhibit technology adoption.

Key research being undertaken through Program 4 includes The Net Zero Australia Project. This two-year initiative analyses detailed scenarios by which Australia can achieve a net zero economy by 2050 while maintaining its current level of energy exports, and is based on the Princeton University Net-Zero America study released in December 2020. Interim results for the Australian study, released in August 2022, are now available.

 

Review date: November 2022