Australia’s renewable transition is being led by a range of energy sources, and in 2024, attention turned to hydrogen as a key player.
We saw investments in new hydrogen facilities, progress on existing projects and partnerships to further boost the industry.
Here, we recap our five most popular hydrogen stories of 2024.
The year was off to a cracking start when the Federal Government announced in January that it would invest $70 million to develop the Townsville Regional Hydrogen Hub, which is expected to initially produce up to 800t of green hydrogen per year, before ramping up to around 3,000t for domestic supply and then in excess of 150,000t for export.
Our second most popular hydrogen story was also in Queensland, with the State Government’s announcement in May that it would fund a $75 million upgrade to Barcaldine Power Station, including a new 30MW hydrogen-ready generator.
In July, readers were interested in the New South Wales Government sharing the design of the state’s first Hydrogen Centre of Excellence, which is expected to train thousands of plumbers and gas fitters upon its completion in 2027, ensuring the state has a pipeline of multi-skilled workers for the hydrogen industry.
The fourth most popular hydrogen story of 2024 came in June, when the Federal Government announced it would partially fund the Hydrogen Zero Emission Maritime (HyZEM) project, designed to drive decarbonisation in the maritime sector as part of a partnership between Australia and the UK.
Finally, our fifth most popular hydrogen story was Jemena’s announcement that it had signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of hydrogen production and blending facilities with Spanish-based company Solarig.
