Australian utility Origin Energy announced its intention to withdraw from hydrogen and focus on renewable energy and energy storage, citing “uncertainty around the pace and timing of development of the hydrogen market".
Today (13 September), the Australian government released an updated 2024 version of its National Hydrogen Strategy, focusing on accelerating clean hydrogen industry growth, with solar PV and wind generation set to provide the foundation for a booming industry.
Due to a lack of state government support, Australian mineral exploration company Province Resources has shelved its multi-gigawatt solar and wind-powered green hydrogen project in Western Australia, HyEnergy.
Plans for a 50GW hybrid solar PV and wind project in Western Australia have progressed with project developers Western Green Energy Hub (WGEH) and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) having signed a new collaboration agreement yesterday (2 September).
Analyst firm BloombergNEF has cautioned that Australia requires around A$2.4 trillion (US$1.6 trillion) investment to reach net zero, with solar PV and wind installations to reach 290GW by 2050.
Australian mining giant Fortescue Metals Group has started constructing a US$50 million project in Western Australia. The project aims to harness solar PV to produce green hydrogen, which will be used to create green metals.
Rinnai Australia, owned by Japanese appliance manufacturer Rinnai Corporation, has expanded into the solar PV and energy storage space by acquiring Smart Energy Group.
