The Mineral Council Australia’s (MCA) new report, Australia’s emerging hydrogen and ammonia industry, explores the game-changing potential of low-cost, clean hydrogen and ammonia as clean fuels, specifically looking at two energy carriers, their potential, and the opportunities for Australia.
To meet the global task to deliver net zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency suggests clean hydrogen production will need to double by 2030 and increase six-fold by 2050 from the current annual production levels of around 90Mt to more than 520Mt.
Ammonia also offers real prospects for decarbonising global shipping fleets, fertiliser production and electricity generation. This will require development of new pipeline and storage infrastructure, including at ports.
Australia is well placed to meet growing international and domestic demand for this important fuel from multiple supply chains drawing on the country’s vast natural resources, with substantial carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) sites in Victoria and Queensland, competitive and accessible coal reserves, natural gas, and significant renewable energy generation capacity..
Australian industry is working to deliver long term supplies of clean hydrogen and ammonia, such as through the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project utilising gasified coal with Japan – a significant investor in research, development and deployment.
Glencore is investing in pre-feasibility studies for commercial scale hydrogen and ammonia production, while progressing environmental approvals for a CO² test injection at its Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation (CTSCo) CCUS project’s storage site.
There is also great potential for Australia to develop hydrogen and ammonia production supply chains using renewable energy sources. These will be dependent on various metals that form the basis of new storage technologies and electrolysers, including copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earths.
One estimate suggests such projects could create a new multi-billion dollar export industry of more than $20 billion for hydrogen by 2050.
To realise this potential for Australia, federal and state governments need to focus on removing regulatory barriers, including expediting approval processes for associated infrastructure like pipelines, hydrogen fuel stations and ammonia storage.
