Australia can meet all of the EU’s target for 10mn t/yr of hydrogen imports by 2030 as long as certification is agreed in a timely fashion and governments continue to provide financial support for infrastructure deployment, according to a report by the Green Hydrogen Taskforce.

The taskforce is a collaboration between Australian green hydrogen producer Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) and leading German companies including chemicals firm Covestro, utility Eon, industrial gases firm Linde, engineering company Luthardt, software manufacturer SAP, auto-maker Schaeffler and steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp.

The taskforce’s White Paper and Action Plan finds there is 5mn t/yr of demand already from fertiliser and chemicals manufacturers seeking to replace increasingly expensive natural gas feedstock, and a total potential market demand of 27mn t/yr after 2030.

27mn t/yr – Potential EU demand

“Overall, policymakers in Germany and the EU must act as critical enablers, continuously supporting market players in their plans to establish a first-of-its-kind green hydrogen trade corridor between Europe and Australia and providing a blueprint for other international collaborations,” says the report.

Transporting sufficient green hydrogen supplies between Australia and the EU will require significant expansion of export and import infrastructure, as well as ammonia and hydrogen storage facilities—both at outbound and inbound ports, it adds.

“While relevant ports across Western Australia and Northern Europe are planning to build up these facilities, their plans would need to be accelerated to ensure green hydrogen can reach Germany with no transport bottlenecks by 2024,” the report says, noting governments must guarantee equal access to different terminals.

To realise the potential of any Australia-EU hydrogen supply corridor, governments must also deploy an overarching communication strategy that could build up public support for green ammonia and green hydrogen, design effective support mechanisms and continue to fund innovation in advanced hydrogen technologies.

Target costs

The report estimates €200-300bn ($211-316bn) of investment will be required to achieve the EU’s hydrogen goals. Some €70-90bn of this will be spent on electrolysers, €100-150bn on renewables and €30-60bn on infrastructure.

Early spending could direct a substantial portion of these investments towards German and European renewable energy technology manufacturers, electrolyser suppliers and engineering firms.

“Investing €2030bn between now and 2030 on economic support to offset market risk would unlock up to ten times more capital expenditure for industrial development,” says the report.

FFI and Eon have already formed a partnership to deliver 5mn t/yr of green hydrogen to the EU by 2030. The hydrogen is likely to be produced in Australia, shipped to the EU and distributed by Eon in Germany and the Netherlands.

This volume of green hydrogen would displace approximately one-third of Germany’s energy imports from Russia, the firms say.

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Author: Tom Young