NORTH Queenslanders could be shipping 120,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen to South Korea in the next decade with the Port of Townsville and Ark Energy signing a Memorandum of Understanding.
Minister for energy, renewables and hydrogen Mick de Brenni said a feasibility study will investigate the development of a renewable hydrogen facility focused on the transport industry at Sun Metals’ zinc refinery in Townsville, along with hydrogen export facilities at the Port of Townsville.
Mr de Brenni said, “We’ve backed Sun Metals with a $5 million Hydrogen Industry Development Fund grant to kickstart hydrogen production in the North.
“Now, through partnerships like this one, Queensland hydrogen will help decarbonise the world and create decent, secure jobs for regional Queenslanders.”
Mr de Brenni said Queensland’s “key strategic advantage” was its state-owned ports.
Port of Townsville CEO Ranee Crosby said Townsville, with its deep-water port and proximity to Asia, has a strategic edge to become a global hub for producing and exporting hydrogen.
“This is another exciting renewable energy project for the port as green hydrogen becomes one of the most sought-after energy products on the world market,” she said.
“We believe Townsville is well placed to be at the forefront of this energy revolution, which will also boost our economic development, create new jobs and substantially reduce our carbon emissions.”
Government Hydrogen Champion and member for Mundingburra Les Walker said this was a major step to developing a growing industry for Townsville.
“Already we’ve seen Ark Energy’s SunHQ hydrogen hub receive a grant through the Palaszczuk government’s Hydrogen Industry Development Fund last year to produce renewable hydrogen in Townsville.
“In April, the Port of Townsville signed a MOU with Origin Energy to facilitate hydrogen exports to Japan and today’s agreement with Ark Energy is another exciting step to developing a local hydrogen supply chain and the jobs that will flow from it.”
Ark Energy CEO Daniel Kim said the initial goal is to build North Queensland’s domestic hydrogen economy by supporting fleet owners to transition away from diesel to zero emission hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles, which can be refuelled at SunHQ.
“Ultimately our goal is to export green hydrogen to customers in Asia starting with our parent company in South Korea whose hydrogen demand could be as high as 200,000 tonnes per annum.
“We believe that Townsville has the potential to become a major global hub for hydrogen exports.
“The MOU with the Port of Townsville is an important step in our journey to investigate this exciting export opportunity, which has the potential to transform the regional economy of North Queensland.”
