The Australian Hydrogen Centre – feasibility studies for achieving 10 and 100% renewable hydrogen in South Australia and Victoria

Abstract

The Australian Hydrogen Centre (AHC) was established to deliver Australian-first feasibility studies into how existing natural gas distribution networks could be used in a system to produce, store, and transport renewable hydrogen, decarbonising gas supply while still meeting the needs of customers. The AHC Reports show that it is technically and economically feasible to use existing gas infrastructure for scaled hydrogen distribution, delivering: (1) net-zero carbon emissions gas; (2) minimised customer disruption while retaining security and diversity of supply; (3) services to the electricity grid through flexible electricity demand and frequency control; (4) 15 gigawatts (GW) of electrolysis supported by over 30 GW of new renewable electricity generation; (5) 30 petajoules (PJ) of hydrogen storage to harness the ability of gas to store vast amounts of energy, balancing renewable electricity supply and demand swings between colder and warmer months; and (6) over AU$1.5 billion in additional economic value a year including more than 12,500 jobs during construction and 6200 jobs during operation. Supported by a range of independent technical studies, the Reports provide a better understanding of the opportunity to access Australia’s world-class gas distribution infrastructure to unlock hydrogen opportunities while retaining energy security and affordability; identifying a range of low-regret enablers that could trigger coordinated action by government and industry. They also share learnings from Hydrogen Park South Australia (HyP SA), an Australian-first demonstration of hydrogen blending in a gas distribution network.