NOT SURE IF THIS SPEECH BY TRADE MINISTER SIMON BIRMINGHAM HAS...

NOT SURE IF THIS SPEECH BY TRADE MINISTER SIMON BIRMINGHAM HAS ALREADY BEEN POSTED. APOLOGIES IF IT HAS.

Trading Australia towards the future

• Speech

Location
National Press Club, Canberra
17 June 2020

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Aligning future export opportunities and industries


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Hydrogen has big potential for Australia, including as an export industry. Some projections indicate it could grow to an $11 billion industry by 2050, supporting potentially 8000 jobs mainly in regional Australia. Signals of international demand and investment are already strong. Australia is forecast to export 42 per cent of potential supply to east and South East Asia by 2040.
Two of our closest existing trade partners, Japan and South Korea, have made ambitious commitments to be hydrogen importers.
We've already established agreements with both governments to develop the hydrogen sector. Exciting and visionary projects across northern Australia are already generating investment interest. That region of Australia and many other parts are well placed to produce and export hydrogen, given the proximity to Asian markets, well-developed infrastructure and abundant solar resources.
I’ve asked our team at Austrade to prioritise the attraction of investment that is required to turn these visions into a reality.Likewise, some of Australia's most exciting opportunities lie in critical minerals like lithium and rare earths, needed to manufacture renewable technology. Our lithium exports are already increasing, and with significant investment, we're looking to again, move up the value chain by supplying battery-grade lithium for electric vehicle markets.
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