Hysata has welcomed the announcement of Australia’s first Hydrogen Headstart recipient, a milestone in establishing Australia’s green hydrogen industry.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Murchison Green Hydrogen project in Mid-West Western Australia near Kalbarri will receive $814m in funding from round one of the Hydrogen Headstart program.
“Programs like Hydrogen Headstart have the potential to do more than improve the economics of green hydrogen; they could lay the foundation for a competitive domestic supply chain,” said Hysata CEO, Paul Barrett.
“As a world-leading electrolyser manufacturer based in Australia, Hysata is a key part of this supply chain, producing high-efficiency alkaline electrolysers. Our technology will drive down the cost of green hydrogen and support major projects enabled by programs like Hydrogen Headstart.”
The project involves large-scale production of renewable hydrogen and ammonia including up to 1.5GW of electrolysis, with stage one expected to produce 900,000 tonnes of green ammonia each year.
Managed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Hydrogen Headstart provides funding for renewable hydrogen projects in the form of a production credit.
“Hysata’s high-efficiency electrolysers will deliver billions of dollars in CAPEX savings for major projects, reinforcing Australia’s ability to lead in renewable hydrogen.
“Hydrogen Headstart, combined with recent legislation to establish a hydrogen production tax incentive and the earmarking of $500M under the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund to support domestic clean technology manufacturers, including for electrolyser manufacturing, are all necessary to ensure Australia can capture both the economic and decarbonisation benefits of the energy transition.”
Green hydrogen will be critical in delivering the final 10-15 per cent of emissions reductions needed to achieve net zero, mainly through its use as a chemical feedstock in hard-to-abate industries such as steel, chemicals including green ammonia, and sustainable fuels.