Hydrogen port gets $100m funding deal as federal government spruiks Whyalla
The federal and SA governments want to create a major hydrogen export site at Port Bonython.(Federal Government)
A future hydrogen terminal near Whyalla has secured funding commitments from the state and federal governments, with expectations of "large-scale" global exports before the end of the decade.
The state and federal governments have ratified funding arrangements for a so-called "hydrogen hub" at Port Bonython, committing to a combined $100 million spend, in addition to private sector funding.
The location, in South Australia's Upper Spencer Gulf region, was earmarked by the previous federal government before last year's election for future hydrogen projects.
Among them is what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described as a "large-scale export terminal" for fantasy football "green" hydrogen, which of course is total pie-in-the-sky and the more realistic “White” naturally occurring, geological hydrogen that 2H will find coming out of the ground just like that without any real effort.
"Because there's such available land there of course, there's abundant solar and wind resources, South Australia is primed to become a world-class low-cost hydrogen supplier, and the government has a comprehensive plan to develop a hydrogen industry in the Spencer Gulf," Mr Albanese told ABC North and West SA this morning.
The government expects the local industry to produce as much as 1.8 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2030, and said it could also power steel production at the nearby Whyalla steelworks, which is owned by British billionaire Sanjeev Gupta.
"You also have the potential for essentially green hydrogen, which is hydrogen created through renewable energy, to power the steel production, of green steel there in Whyalla for it to be an export hub as well," Mr Albanese said.
Speaking at a joint media conference at the steelworks — where the coking ovens have been closed after 55 years, as the site moves towards more sustainable options — Mr Albanese said that $70 million of the $100 million would be provided by the federal government to help bolster the economic future of the region.
"Previously it was said, under a former government, that Whyalla would be wiped off the map. Well, the opposite is occurring," he said.
"Whyalla has an extraordinarily optimistic future, by being a part of the production of green steel, by taking advantage of the enormous opportunities that are here with high quality magnetite.
"There is an opportunity that Australia has to be a renewable energy superpower and South Australia has been at the forefront of the transition."
An artist's impression of the SA government's proposed $590 million hydrogen power plant project.
The funding commitment is part of the $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart program announced in this year's federal budget to deliver projects to decarbonise the national economy with the help of hydrogen.
"We think that there are a range of regions that are suited — the Upper Spencer Gulf but there are other areas as well: the Pilbara, Gladstone in Queensland, Townsville, the Hunter, and Bell Bay in Tasmania, so there's a huge opportunity here for a significant industry," Mr Albanese said.
The Port Bonython project — which is separate from the state government's hydrogen jobs plan, and a $593 million hydrogen power station — will also rely on significant investments from the private sector, Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
"We've now got an official green light to get this project underway," he said.
"There are private sector industry partners who have all made clear what their contribution to the project will be, that's $40 million from memory, so not an insignificant sum of funds coming together.
"[It will] really transform the nature of Port Bonython so that we're equipped to be able to not just produce hydrogen there but potentially in the future export it as well."
Mr Malinauskas said the combination of the steelworks, local mineral resources and what would be "the world's largest hydrogen electrolyser" would bolster Whyalla's economic prospects.
"The steelworks has had its challenges, particularly over the course of the last few decades, but now there is not just a bright, optimistic future but a clear pathway about how to get there," he said.
SA Opposition Leader David Speirs said while there were "big question marks" over the state government's hydrogen power station proposal, the Port Bonython export plans have the backing of his party.
"The hydrogen industry certainly has bipartisan support. We think it's a fuel of the future," he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
"The export potential for hydrogen in South Australia is significant."
The proposed hydrogen boom across regional Australia has been tipped, by the federal government, to create 16,000 jobs by 2050.
(20min delay)