The NSW government is investing $64 million in the state’s first two green hydrogen hub projects, in the Illawarra and Moree, while also opening applications for $1.5 billion in concessions for large-scale green hydrogen producers.
The first recipients are the BOC Illawarra Hydrogen Technology Hub and Sundown’s Keytah cotton farm near Moree.
The Illawarra project includes a 10-megawatt electrolyser in Port Kembla to produce four tonnes of green hydrogen daily for at least four hydrogen refueling stations that can power up to 40 heavy-duty vehicles. In time, the project hopes to have 650 megawatts of electrolyser capacity.
Moree needs a 12-megawatt electrolyser to convert green hydrogen and nitrogen captured in the air into green ammonia that will be used to fertilize farms in the region. The project hopes to boost capacity to 112 megawatts to reduce emissions of 283,929 tons by 2030.
Treasurer and Energy Secretary Matt Kean said he hopes the taxpayer investment will reduce the cost of green hydrogen by about 40% to the government’s target of less than $2.80 per kilo by 2030 and an estimated $80 billion in private investment by 2050.
“These incentives will set us up for success as we compete with the high-profile hydrogen incentives of the US Inflation Reduction Act, as the NSW concessions could apply to projects ending well beyond 2030, with the US program expiring in 2032,” said he.
“At the same time, green hydrogen producers across NSW now have access to $1.5 billion in concessions to reduce costs for large-scale investments, including up to a 90 per cent reduction in their electricity grid costs when they connect to parts of the grid with free network capacity.
“Green hydrogen can contribute to deep decarbonisation in hard-to-reduce market segments within the transport, industrial and energy sectors, which account for approximately 18% of NSW’s annual emissions.
More information on the NSW hydrogen strategy is available here.
The announcement comes as the NSW government enters caretaker mode ahead of the state election on March 25.
