1. My above abc.net link, on 19.7, was from an 18.7.24 abc article (not 18.4).
2. More experts are stating that it is very unlikely that hydrogen power will be able to replace thermal coal power, or gas power- this time from the Aust. Govt.'s Chief Scientist Dr A. Frankel ( & others in the link)... not commercially viable.
APAC Mag 18.4.24 (from an AFR article 18.4.24, from A. MacDonald) said
"The architect of the first national clean hydrogen strategy, former chief scientist Alan Finkel, says his support for the fuel has “evolved” and concedes it is difficult to see it replacing gas for heating homes.
Dr Finkel, who was commissioned by the Coalition to deliver a road map for developing a local hydrogen industry, said it was “increasingly clear that green hydrogen is too expensive” and Australia was “unlikely to use hydrogen for storage of electricity”...
“Using renewable electricity to make green hydrogen, then store it, then feed it to a converted gas generator is expensive and inefficient...
Japan’s boldest push into Australian hydrogen has been in Victoria, where a project to turn brown coal into clean hydrogen using carbon capture and storage has been allocated $2.35 billion of support by the country’s green innovation fund.
The Victorian government is waiting on the proponents – a consortium including Kawasaki and J-Power – to formally apply before stating whether it will approve the project.
Some Japanese investors have toned down their aggressive pursuit of green hydrogen ventures in Australia, concluding the projects do not stack up economically without a higher subsidy than $2 per kilogram.
“Virtually unanimously everyone seems to conclude the economics are poor on any of the green hydrogen projects unless you get significant state underwriting for projects,” said Milford Asset Management portfolio manager Jason Kururangi, adding Fortescue’s retreat “makes a lot of sense”.".
Green hydrogen too ‘expensive and inefficient’: Finkel – ACAPMAg
(20min delay)