Budget boost for Gladstone hydrogen plans

The State Government is putting $15 million towards developing a publicly owned, large-scale hydrogen export facility in Gladstone. The investment, through publicly owned energy corporation Stanwell, will support front-end engineering and design studies for the CQ-H2 renewable hydrogen project. The 12-month FEED study will further develop the technical, commercial and strategic elements of the project to allow for a Final Investment Decision to be made in late-2023. “Stanwell’s Gladstone project, being developed with international partners including Iwatani Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kansai Electric Power Company and Marubeni, and Australian energy infrastructure business APA Group, could be the catalyst to create up to 8900 new jobs,” Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said “It could deliver more than $17.2 billion in hydrogen exports and $12.4 billion to Queensland’s gross domestic product over its 30-year lifespan.” Deputy Premier Steven Miles joined Stanwell chief executive officer Michael O’Rourke and other members of the Stanwell team on a trade mission to Japan last week. They met with key Japanese government agencies, project consortium partners and potential offtakers for the proposed CQ-H2 renewable hydrogen project. Stanwell general manager new energy projects Phil Richardson the CQ-H2 project was considered an important project to helping Japan achieve its decarbonisation objectives. The CQ-H2 project team had commenced a Bridging Phase to continue progressing critical technical and regulatory approval activities in the lead up to the FEED stage commencing in August 202, he said. Minister for Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said global markets were increasingly hungry for green hydrogen to help meet their decarbonisation ambitions. “Every credible expert is saying that renewable energy is the biggest opportunity since the industrial revolution,” he said. “And Queensland, with its abundance of sunshine, wind and potential for pumped hydro energy storage, is in prime position to satiate an increasingly hungry world hydrogen market. “This $15 million in fast-tracked funding – through the $2 billion Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund – will also help future planning for supply chain and workforce opportunities. “It builds on a feasibility study already completed into the Gladstone project, which would also supply large industrial customers in the Central Queensland region." Hydrogen was high on the agenda when a team from Stanwell participated in a trade mission to Japan last week.

Budget boost for Gladstone hydrogen plans

Industry Queensland

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