The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced conditional funding of up to AU$50 million and EUR 40 million awarded by Australia and Germany across four projects as part of the German-Australian Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Incubator (known as HyGATE).
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ARENA, on behalf of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW), has teamed up with Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), through Project Management Jülich (PtJ), to administer HyGATE.
Australia and Germany committed funding up to AU$50 million and EUR 50 million, respectively, to the HyGATE initiative which opened in March 2022.
The objective of HyGATE is to strengthen Australian-German cooperation in reducing the cost of producing hydrogen from renewable sources and to stimulate the innovation process in both countries.
We’re excited to be able to announce these four hydrogen projects that demonstrate the benefit of global collaboration to achieve a new export industry in renewable hydrogen and push us further towards the goal of net zero emissions, said Darren Miller, CEO of ARENA.
ARENA and PtJ have awarded conditional offers of funding to the following projects:
- ATCO Australia & Fraunhofer IST for ScaleH2 (AU$0.8 million & €4.7 million). The ScaleH2 project supported by NSW Powerfuels presents a pathway to the development of a 1 GW electrolyzer and 800 000 tonnes per annum ammonia facility in the Illawarra region of New South Wales (NSW).
- Hysata & Fraunhofer IPT for High-efficiency ‘Capillary-fed’ Electrolyser Pilot Project (AU$8.98 million & €5.9 million). Hysata’s ‘capillary-fed’ electrolyzer represents a step change in hydrogen technology that will deliver the most efficient electrolyzer in the world. The Hysata electrolyzer operates at 95 percent system efficiency (41.5 kWh/kg), delivering a giant leap in performance and cost over incumbent technologies, which typically operate at 75 percent or less.
- Edify Energy & Siemens Energy Global GmbH for EGH2 – Edify Green Hydrogen Project (AU$20.74 million & €16.4 million). EGH2 involves the deployment of a 17.5 MW Siemens Energy electrolyzer with 21 MW solar PV integrated behind the meter to produce renewable hydrogen for domestic industrial and transport applications. Edify is negotiating a range of off-take agreements. The project is the first stage of a planned 1 GW green hydrogen production facility that will export hydrogen globally through the Port of Townsville.
- Vast Solar & Fichtner GmbH & Co. KG for SM1 – Solar Methanol (AU$19.48 million & €13.2 million). SM1 involves the development of a methanol production plant using renewable energy. It seeks to address an emerging market need for the supply of sustainable shipping and aviation fuels to power the international industry and ensure domestic energy security. The plan consists of a 10 MW electrolyzer producing green hydrogen for solar methanol production.
Ability to deliver
HyGATE brings together Australian and German industry and research partners to deliver new hydrogen projects, with the projects primarily occurring in Australia.
HyGATE highlights our strong relationship with Germany. Through our joint support we will bring together Australian innovation and state-of-the-art German renewable hydrogen technology for the benefit of both countries, Darren Miller said.
Organizations that have received funding through ARENA and PtJ have been chosen based on their ability to deliver on one or more of the specified outcomes of the funding round, including:
- Demonstrating highly innovative technology across the value chain of renewable hydrogen.
- Reducing the cost of hydrogen production, transport, storage, and use, and supporting the commercial viability of renewable hydrogen.
- Developing an Australian-German supply chain for renewable hydrogen.
- Encouraging cross-country collaboration and knowledge sharing between Australian and German organizations.
- Providing price discovery and transparency in relation to the current and projected economics for renewable hydrogen technologies.
The Australia-Germany Hydrogen Accord, announced in June 2021, builds on the respective strengths of the two countries.
Collaboration with Germany will help grow Australia’s hydrogen export market and support our nation’s vision of becoming a renewable energy superpower. These projects demonstrate Australia’s role as a world leader in renewable energy production, reducing the cost of hydrogen production and paving the way for exports, said Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen MP.
Australia has the potential to be a world leader in the production and export of clean hydrogen and Germany holds expertise in hydrogen technology and is planning to import significant quantities of hydrogen in the future.
Australia and Germany have a lot in common, even though more than 14,000 kilometres separate us. We share values, we share goals, we share visions. And soon we will move even closer together: with the first supply chain for green hydrogen worldwide. We have selected four projects from a joint funding call that will massively accelerate the build-up. Green hydrogen is the missing piece of the energy transition puzzle. Only with green hydrogen will we achieve our climate goals and at the same time give our economy a boost. We will have to import it permanently, as we have done it in the past with other energy sources. Australia is the ideal partner for this. With our joint initiatives HySupply and HyGATE, we laid the foundation for a long-term German-Australian hydrogen partnership early on. My goal is that the first delivery will arrive in Germany by 2030 at the latest. Today we are a big step closer to implementing a hydrogen supply chain from Australia to Germany, commented German Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger.
