Hydrogen investment and funding

Queensland is well positioned to scale up a hydrogen economy utilising existing infrastructure at key ports. The state’s abundant renewable energy sources and technical and research capabilities also make it an ideal location for the development of a renewable hydrogen sector.

For more information on investing in Queensland visit Trade and Investment Queensland.

Queensland Government investment

The Queensland Government has made strategic investments to support the development of the hydrogen sector including:

$15 million to support development of the Stanwell-Iwatani consortium’s CQH2 hydrogen export facility in Gladstone
$600,000 in financial support over 4 years for the Future Energy Exports Cooperative Research Centre
$250,000 towards the QUT-led H2XPort renewable pilot plant hosted at the Queensland Government’s Redlands Research Facility
$100,000 to support the National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) national hydrogen technology clusters program. The NERA regional clusters program has now been extended to include 3 clusters in Queensland (SEQ, Gladstone and Toowoomba).

We also committed to a trial of 5 hydrogen powered Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) in the Queensland Government fleet.

Investment partnerships

International companies are investing in Queensland hydrogen projects in partnership with our publicly owned ports and energy generators:

Japanese energy company Iwatani Corporation has partnered with Stanwell Corporation to develop a large-scale renewable hydrogen facility in Aldoga, west of Gladstone. Japanese companies Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kansai Electric Power Company and Marubeni, and Australian energy infrastructure business APA Group have also joined the consortium.
IHI Corporation Japan and CS Energy partnered to assess the feasibility of establishing a renewable hydrogen demonstration plant next to CS Energy’s Kogan Creek Power Station on Queensland’s Western Downs.
Japan’s largest oil company ENEOS Corporation committed to a detailed study on the establishment of a commercial scale hydrogen supply chain between Japan and Queensland.
Japanese multinational Sumitomo Corporation has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gladstone Ports Corporation, Gladstone Regional Council, CQUniversity Australia, Australian Gas Infrastructure Group and CleanCo to develop a renewable hydrogen ecosystem in Gladstone.
Sumitomo Corporation also signed a letter of intent with Rio Tinto to study the construction of Sumitomo’s hydrogen pilot plant at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery in Gladstone and explore the use of hydrogen at the site.
Japanese trading company ITOCHU Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation, Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure and Brookfield to develop plans to build a renewable hydrogen production, storage and export facility within the Hay Point port precinct.
Ark Energy (subsidiary of Korea Zinc) signed a MoU with the Port of Townsville to investigate the development of a renewable hydrogen facility focused on the transport industry at Sun Metals’ zinc refinery in Townsville, along with hydrogen export facilities at the Port of Townsville.

The Queensland Government is supporting a range of other significant hydrogen projects in Queensland, including:

Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) who are seeking to build a facility at Gibson Island to produce around 50,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year when commissioned.
FFI has also commenced construction of the world’s largest electrolyser facility in Gladstone. Stage one will be a $114 million electrolyser facility, with the first electrolysers expected to be manufactured at the facility in early 2023. Several growth stages are already planned into its factory footprint which includes green manufacturing technology such as cables, batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.
In April 2022, The Hydrogen Utility (H2U) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with mining and infrastructure solutions provider Orica, to initiate the first phase of the H2-Hub™ Gladstone project. The first step in this partnership will be to develop a master plan study to explore opportunities for an exclusive domestic green ammonia offtake and supply agreement. The project, which has been declared a ‘coordinated project’ by the Coordinator General, has the potential to create over 550 jobs during construction, over 140 ongoing operational jobs and approximately 1,900 indirect jobs, and attract $4.7 billion investment during its phased construction.
Australia’s largest rail freight operator Aurizon and global mining company Anglo American are undertaking a study into using hydrogen-powered trains for bulk freight on Aurizon’s Moura and Mount Isa Rail corridors, which means potential future opportunities for hydrogen in the state in both manufacturing and deployment of technology.
Australian energy technology company LAVO is establishing Australia’s first hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing facility in Greater Springfield, which will provide additional hydrogen applications to smaller customer segments.

Renewable energy zones

A renewable energy zone brings together a coordinated mix of generation, network upgrades, demand, and potentially storage, to deliver renewable electricity investments more efficiently than developing projects individually.

Our establishment and investment into renewable energy zones will further enable opportunities to develop hydrogen hubs across Queensland.

The renewable zones investment will inject economic activity into our regional communities, supporting Queensland’s Economic Recovery Plan.

It will position Queensland as a renewable energy investment destination, support decarbonisation and efficiency goals, and create long term employment.

Funding

Queensland Hydrogen Industry Development Fund

Since the Hydrogen Industry Development Fund (HIDF) was first announced in 2019, a total of $35 million has been committed by the Queensland Government for hydrogen industry development activities. Projects funded from Round One of the HIDF include:

Australian Gas Networks Limited – up to $1.78 million to build a renewable hydrogen production facility and undertake a gas blending trial of up to 10% hydrogen into the Gladstone City gas distribution network.
Sun Metals Corporation – up to $5 million for integration of renewable hydrogen into potential applications including remote area power, transport and heavy industry.
Jilrift Pty Limited – up to $0.94 million to build a renewable hydrogen plant and demonstrate use of low-pressure hydride remote power systems at its eco-camps within the Spicers Resorts Scenic Rim trail.

HIDF Round Two funding announcements include:

SeaLink Marine and Tourism - Gladstone will be positioned to have one of Australia’s first renewable hydrogen-powered passenger ferries following the announcement of $5 million support from the Queensland Government through the HIDF.Total project cost is $20.6 million.
Emerald Coaches - Up to $2.7 million in funding support from the HIDF for Emerald Coaches to integrate two hydrogen fuel cell electric buses into its fleet of 120 diesel buses by mid-2023, to transport mine workers and students in the Bowen Basin.
Goondiwindi Regional Council - Up to $2 million HIDF funding support to integrate hydrogen production with wastewater treatment.

Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Jobs Fund

Queensland is creating jobs for a sustainable and affordable energy future to benefit Queensland communities, workers and our economy through the $2 billion hydrogen and renewable energy jobs fund.

The Queensland Jobs Fund includes a $350 million Industry Partnership Program and existing programs that support job-creating industries like renewable energy, hydrogen, resource recovery, business, manufacturing and catalytic infrastructure.

$28.9 million from this fund has been allocated to the Kogan Creek hydrogen demonstration plant and refueller network. In May 2022 iconic Queensland companies CS Energy and Sensex Energy formed a joint venture to develop the demonstration plant near Chinchilla. The project will include the co-location of a solar farm, battery, hydrogen electrolyser, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen storage and out loading facility. IHI Engineering Australia (a subsidiary of IHI Corporation Japan) has been appointed to construct the plant, with work due to start on site in September 2022.

Learn more about cheaper, cleaner energy powering more jobs.

Commonwealth funding

In 2019, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced the Renewable Hydrogen Development Funding Round of up to $70 million to help fast track the development of renewable hydrogen in Australia. This initiative is now closed and followed the release of the National Hydrogen Strategy.

The Advancing Hydrogen Fund, drawing on CEFC finance, has up to $300 million available to support the Australian hydrogen industry.

NERA is an independent not-for-profit company funded through Federal Government grants and collaborative programs by state/territory governments, industry and the science and research community. NERA is accelerating the hydrogen supply chain through the Regional Hydrogen Technology Cluster Seed Funding Program. Three organisations in Queensland have received NERA cluster funding with additional support from the Queensland Government:

Last updated:: 28 June 2022