Queensland

Queensland Hydrogen Industry Strategy

The Queensland Hydrogen Industry Strategy 2019-2024 (QHIS) was released in May 2019.

The Vision is “By 2030, Queensland is at the forefront of renewable hydrogen production in Australia, supplying an established domestic market and export partners with a safe, sustainable and reliable supply of hydrogen.”

Qld hydrogen report

Five focus areas were identified to support the development of a hydrogen industry in Queensland:

  • Supporting innovation
  • Facilitating private sector investment
  • Ensuring an effective policy framework
  • Building community awareness and confidence
  • Facilitating skills development for a new technology

The Queensland Jobs Fund (November 2024) brings together a number of industry development programs, including:

Queensland Hydrogen Industry Development Fund

The AUD$35 million Hydrogen Industry Development Fund (HIDF) is supporting a number of domestic hydrogen production and use projects, including:

Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund

The Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund (QREHJF) is a AUD$4.5 billion program that allows energy Government owned corporations to increase ownership of commercial renewable energy and hydrogen projects, as well as supporting infrastructure, including in partnership with the private sector.

As of November 2024, hydrogen-related projects funded through the QREHJF include:

Industry Partnership Program

The AUD$350 million Industry Partnership Program aims to spur investment through the following avenues:

  • Support manufacturing investment in Queensland along the renewables and hydrogen supply chain (including in electrolyser manufacturing capability).
  • Support the development of projects in the hydrogen and renewable industries.
  • Through increased demand for cleaner fuels, support expansion of the Queensland resources sector, especially for those crucial minerals (such as cobalt, copper, vanadium, scandium, etc.) required to support expansion of clean energy supply.

Commonwealth Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program

The October 2022-2023 federal budget released on 25 October 2022 confirmed funding awards to several Queensland based projects via the Commonwealth Government’s Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program.

Hub Implementation Grants

  • In October 2023, Stanwell Corporation’s Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub (CQ-H2 Hub) was announced as recipient of up to AUD$69.2 million to develop the Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub in Gladstone.

Hub Development and Design Grants

In addition to the above awards through the Regional Hydrogen Hubs Program, in January 2024, the Australian Government announced an investment of up to AUD$70 million to Edify Energy and its partners to develop the Townsville Region Hydrogen Hub in north Queensland.

Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan

In September 2022, the Energy and Jobs Plan was released which included, amongst a range of announcements, that 70% of Queensland’s energy supply would come from renewables by 2032 (and 80% by 2035). With respect to hydrogen, the Plan includes the following initiatives:

  • An investment of AUD$15 million to plan for hydrogen hubs in key locations (of which AUD$8.5 million has been allocated for the Abbot Point Activation Initiative).
  • AUD$5 million for a program to inform Queensland communities about the opportunities of renewable hydrogen.
  • Invest in a 200 MW hydrogen-ready gas peaking facility at Kogan Creek (targeting a 2026 operations date).
  • Preparation of legislation to support development of the hydrogen industry in the state.

Training and Skills Development

In July 2022, the Hydrogen Industry Workforce Development Roadmap 2022-2032 was released. The roadmap identifies four key focus areas and includes a list of investments in skills and training facilities of particular relevance to hydrogen:

  • AUD$20 million for upgrades to the Queensland Apprenticeships Centre, including a new Hydrogen Training Centre at Beenleigh, which was officially opened in November 2022.
  • AUD$17 million to build the Pinkenba Renewable Energy Training Facility for training in solar and other renewable energy equipment.
  • AUD$10.6 million to build a hydrogen and renewable energy training facility in Townsville.
  • AUD$2 million to upgrade facilities at Gladstone State High School to prepare students for entry into the hydrogen industry.
  • AUD$4 million for an energy training and skills strategy, consisting of electric vehicle skills fund, hydrogen skills fund and TAFE renewable energy strategy.

Partnerships and Other Initiatives

In May 2020, the Queensland Hydrogen Investor Toolkit (‘Toolkit’) was released to assist investors planning to undertake hydrogen project developments in Queensland. This Toolkit has most recently been updated in April 2024.

In December 2020 (building on an earlier announcement in August 2019), a three-year trial of five hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in the State Government’s vehicle fleet commenced. The trial became fully operational in August 2021 and is ongoing.

In October 2021, a Memorandum of Understanding with the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands was announced. The agreement would see Queensland and the Port of Rotterdam collaborate on opportunities to develop a hydrogen export supply chain between Queensland hydrogen producers and Rotterdam.

In March 2022, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria announced an agreement to collaborate on the development of an east coast renewable hydrogen refuelling network by 2026, focusing on the freight corridor routes of the Hume Highway, the Pacific Highway and the Newell Highway. The October 2022-23 federal budget, under the Driving the Nation Fund, includes an allocation by the Commonwealth of matched funding to that already committed by New South Wales and Victoria (AUD$20 million) and makes available the same amount to other jurisdictions on a matching basis (up to AUD$60 million, for a potential total Commonwealth outlay of AUD$80 million). A Queensland Hydrogen Super highway is being investigated along the state’s heavy haulage transport routes.

In October 2022, a state-wide study of Queensland’s renewable hydrogen production and export potential was completed.

In February 2023, the AUD$983 million Fitzroy to Gladstone pipeline was officially approved for construction.  Amongst other things, the pipeline would support hydrogen projects under development with future water requirements. The pipeline is expected to be completed in late 2026.

Changes to the Petroleum and Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 and Gas Supply Act 2003 were made at the end of 2023 that extended existing pipeline provisions to apply to the transmission of hydrogen and other hydrogen carriers.  These changes applied the existing safety frameworks for pipelines in Queensland to hydrogen and other renewable gases, including the requirement to develop safety management systems and comply with safety requirements. Further regulatory reforms are being evaluated and in February 2024, a consultation paper ‘An effective regulatory framework for Queensland’s hydrogen industry’ was released, with the consultation period for this paper closed on 1 March 2024.

In April 2024, Fortescue’s Gladstone Electrolyser Facility opened. The facility is the first stage of the wider Gladstone Green Energy Manufacturing (Gladstone GEM) Centre being developed by Fortescue on the 100-hectare site located on the Aldoga Industrial Estate in the Gladstone State Development Area.

In April 2024, it was announced that construction was underway on the Aldoga Solar Farm (on the Central Queensland coast) which would produce electricity to power the proposed Central Queensland Hydrogen Project.

In June 2024, AUD$4 million was allocated through the 2024/25 State Budget to investigate the potential for natural hydrogen in the state.

In August 2024, AUD$10 million was committed under the Regional Economic Futures Fund [REFF] to establish additional infrastructure at the Abbot Point State Development Area to support global interest and investment in establishing large-scale production facilities for the export of hydrogen and accelerate hydrogen industry development.

Further information on hydrogen industry development in Queensland and contact details are available here and here.

 

Updated: November 2024