“Less hype isn’t a problem:” WA says it still has high hopes for green hydrogen

Western Australia’s Cook government is issuing a “rallying call” to the green hydrogen sector, declaring that “there is no room for half measures” in its efforts to develop a world-class hydrogen industry in the state.

State energy and decarbonisation minister Amber-Jade Sanderson told the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam on Wednesday that Western Australia cannot become a global hydrogen powerhouse through “timidity” and that the state is looking for partners willing to engage and invest.

“Less hydrogen hype isn’t a problem; it’s just the next phase,” Sanderson said, according to a copy of her speech released beforehand. “Our ambition to develop a world-class hydrogen industry remains stronger than ever.”

Despite some setbacks, Western Australia wants to become a leading producer, user, and exporter of renewable hydrogen, products, and technologies by the end of the decade.

It aims to begin renewable hydrogen production at scale by 2030 and is targeting the approval for the large-scale use of renewable hydrogen in green metals or green ammonia by 2028.

One of its projects, the 6 GW Murchison Green Hydrogen Project has been the first to receive funding from the federal hydrogen head-start program, and the state still has hopes of hosting two of the world’s biggest projects – the 50 GW Western hub in the south-east of the state and the 26 GW Australian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara.

Western Australia says it hopes to secure an off-take agreement of renewable hydrogen products for international export by the end of the decade.

“I hear proponents talk about project-on-project risk in the hydrogen industry, where various projects depend on each other for certainty around inputs and revenue,” Sanderson said.

“We have the ability to use our full suite of levers to de-risk multiple projects at the same time, giving proponents greater certainty around access to critical infrastructure, reliable and affordable clean energy, and long-term offtake partners.

“We believe we are well placed to do this better than anywhere else in the world.”

Western Australia has also already begun paving the way for international cooperation, such as the Trilateral Hydrogen Hub Feasibility Study, which was competed in partnership with the Netherlands’ Port of Rotterdam and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems.

The study, which published its results earlier this month, examined the potential to accelerate renewable hydrogen production at the Oakajee Strategic Industrial Area (SIA) in Western Australia’s Mid West region, with a specific focus on export opportunities to Germany.