Blueprint for a competitive hydrogen industry released

An economically sustainable hydrogen industry could soon be on the cards, with a new blueprint from CSIRO revealing that cost-competitiveness is firmly on the horizon.

Hydrogen is a clean-burning fuel with a range of uses, from powering vehicles to storing energy. It can service multiple markets and, if produced using low-emissions energy sources, will enable deep decarbonisation across the energy and industrial sectors.

The National Hydrogen Roadmap sets out a path to develop the action and investment plans required to realise the full benefits of a hydrogen economy. Its findings include:

• Hydrogen technologies are reaching maturity, with the narrative now shifting from R&D to market activation.
• Hydrogen presents a new export opportunity for Australia and could also play a significant role in enabling the further uptake of renewable energy.
• While the benefits are clear, current barriers to market activation include a lack of supporting infrastructure, such as hydrogen refuelling stations for transport, and the cost of hydrogen supply for some applications.
• An appropriate policy framework could create a ‘market pull’ for hydrogen, with investment in infrastructure then likely to follow.
• In or around 2025, clean hydrogen could be cost-competitive with existing industrial feedstocks, such as natural gas, and energy carriers such as batteries in many applications.
   

“We’ve established a strong network of partners and collaborators that support current, practical research and technology development initiatives right across the hydrogen energy value chain,” said Dr Patrick Hartley, CSIRO Hydrogen Future Science Platform Director.

“And while much of the required technology is at a mature stage, there is considerable scope for further R&D to further improve process efficiencies and develop new applications.”

The roadmap was sponsored by 21 industry and government bodies. It can be viewed at the CSIRO website.

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