Berlin Jan. 27 (BNA): Australia and Germany have committed A$50 million ($35.5 million) and €50 million ($54.4 million), respectively, towards a joint initiative to create a green hydrogen supply chain, the Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy said. Chris Bowen said on Friday.
The two countries, which signed a bilateral alliance on hydrogen production and trade in June 2021, have announced funding for four projects under the German-Australian Hydrogen Innovation and Technology Initiative (HyGATE), as reported by Reuters.
This cooperation also helps Australia strengthen the export infrastructure for renewable energies, while allowing Germany to meet its growing energy needs via cleaner sources.
Green hydrogen is made using electrolyzers powered by renewable energy to split water.
Among the funds awarded, Australian clean technology company Vast Solar and the Solar Methanol Consortium have won grants of A$19.48 million and €13.2 million respectively to develop a 10 MW green hydrogen-producing electrolyzer for solar methanol production in Port Augusta, South Australia.
Another grant recipient, Hysata, an electrolysis company, has secured A$8.98 million to work with Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology to develop a new ‘capillary-fed’ electrolyzer for low-cost hydrogen delivery in Port Kembla, New South Wales.
Currently, data from the Office of the Chief Economist at the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources, showed hydrogen projects made up of A$266 billion of potential investment out of the total value of A$705 billion of resource and energy projects in the pipeline in Australia.
“Working together with our international partners will help Germany to phase out coal power generation by 2038 and help Australia reach net zero by 2050,” said German Education and Research Minister Bettina Stark-Witzinger.
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