NSW HYDROGEN STRATEGY CONFIRMS ILLAWARRA’S LEADING ROLE
13 October 2021
The region’s peak business organisation, Business Illawarra has today welcomed the NSW Government’s release of the state-wide, master-planned approach to rapid scale-up and enabling of a viable hydrogen industry in NSW that has Port Kembla and the Illawarra front and centre.
Announcing the NSW Hydrogen Strategy, the Premier Dominic Perrottet committed a further $3 billion in incentives to set the State up as a global hydrogen leader which is forecast
to increase the size of the NSW economy by more than $600 million by 2030 – most of which will flow into the Illawarra and Hunter regions.
Business Illawarra Executive Director, Adam Zarth said that the NSW Hydrogen Strategy will provide greater certainty to industry, with more focus for research and development, innovation and transformation and incentives for locally-based major industries to drive decarbonisation efforts using hydrogen.
“As a carbon-exposed regional economy, our major industrial employers have chosen a path toward a renewable future and the hydrogen production and export opportunity is a huge part of delivering that.”
“Earlier this year, Business Illawarra facilitated a highly successful industry forum with the Minister for Energy and the Environment, Hon Matt Kean MP, as well as the Shadow Minister for Planning, Paul Scully MP, where it was clear that industry will benefit from a strong bipartisanship on this.”
“The Illawarra is attracting strong investment in terms of renewables, including Squadron’s proposed 660MW dual-fuel gas-hydrogen fired power plant, EnergyAustralia’s 300MW Tallawarra B (co-funded by government), and Oceanex Energy’s proposed 2000MW offshore windfarm.”
“This Strategy shows the government is committed to backing industry on its transition to carbon neutrality and the Illawarra, which is already leading energy transformation in NSW, is positioned front and center within the document released today.”
Business Illawarra member Coregas is developing a hydrogen refueling station at Port Kembla, supported by a grant from the Port Kembla Community Investment Fund, which was specifically mentioned in the Strategy.
“The heavy transport sector will be one of the first to benefit from the clean hydrogen opportunity and we will deploy hydrogen-powered prime movers with a hydrogen refueling
station at our Port Kembla facility in 2022,” said Alan Watkins, General Manager of Coregas.
“The Strategy released today reflects the leading work that is happening locally which has seen industry collaborating closely with government, Council, business groups, the labour movement, and experts at the University of Wollongong.”