HYDROGEN EXPORT
iNTERNATIONAL MARKETS
International Green Hydrogen Markets
At least 20 countries, collectively representing around 70% of global GDP, are proposing hydrogen strategies or roadmaps as key elements of their decarbonisation plans. Discussions are underway with Japanese and South Korean corporations for the purchase and export from Darwin of up to 2,500,000 tonnes per year of green hydrogen. This export opportunity could generate more than A$25 billion in exports from the Northern Territory per year.
‘Net zero’ targets cannot be achieved without green hydrogen.
While ‘ever cheaper’ electricity from renewables combined with battery storage looks set to address large swathes of the transport and power sectors, important gaps remain. Hydrogen’s high energy to mass ratio and low losses during storage and transportation make it suitable for addressing these gaps. Recently published forecasts from the EU, the Hydrogen Council and Bloomberg New Energy Finance suggest hydrogen could grow from 2% of the global energy mix in 2018 to 13–24% by 2050.
With lower than AU$2 per kg production costs for compressed green hydrogen, GWE will have the opportunity to ship compressed hydrogen to Japan, South Korea, Singapore and the Asian market. No further energy will be required by the receiving customer to convert the hydrogen from a solid or liquid form. Distribution to Japan and Korean service stations will be by compressed hydrogen transport tanks pulled by hydrogen fuel cell prime movers.
Japan has invested significantly, both privately and publicly, in hydrogen technology.
Their Energy Carrier Project, supported by the Cross-Ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program of the Cabinet Office, Government of Japan, coordinates and supports the necessary R&D for establishing a hydrogen economy. Its goal is to reduce the cost of hydrogen production and delivery within the supply chain, focusing on solar and wind energy, liquid hydrogen carriers, ammonia, methylcyclohexane and liquefied hydrogen.
Hydrogen is critical for replacing coal and gas in fossil-fuel intensive industrial processes such as steelmaking. By storing the excess energy generated by renewables until it is needed, hydrogen can help address intermittency in the power sector and provides a potential path for decarbonising heating. Hydrogen’s high energy to mass ratio makes it particularly suitable for heavy-duty, long-distance road freight, maritime and aviation applications.
Investment in hydrogen technology and capacity has accelerated in the last year.
Analysts have lifted long-term forecasts and share prices have soared. Yet hydrogen has a long history of not delivering on its potential. Historically, its role has been limited by high production costs and the need for new and adapted infrastructure to support distribution and storage. Falling solar and battery costs are starting to address the price premium for green hydrogen, but governments will also need to provide investment and implement policies that explicitly encourage hydrogen adoption and deliver the scale required to drive down costs.
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