Water's role in the hydrogen economy
Diving deeper
The expansion of the Australian hydrogen industry has been gaining momentum for several years. But with many of our water utility clients coming to us for answers on how they should engage with this emerging industry, it became apparent to us that the water sector was increasingly being called on to play its part – but how?
In response to this this question, we teamed up with industry leaders and utilities on a four-part webinar series to tackle key questions for water utilities around how to integrate the hydrogen push into strategy, planning for demand uncertainty, the shift in water supply challenges, and hydrogen’s connection to the circular economy.
Consolidating the learnings from these webinars, we’ve created a guide, ‘Navigating water’s role in the green hydrogen economy’, which lays out a pathway for operationalising the water-energy nexus. It draws on expertise from GHD’s own team of technical specialists, as well as the inputs of industry experts and participants, to provide a way forward for the water industry and those seeking to engage with it.
The steps outlined in this guide are designed to help utilities navigate their role in this new green hydrogen economy. And other key stakeholders including financiers, producers and governments can also benefit, by understanding how they need to be engaging with utilities to ensure not only the success of their projects, but also the impact they will have on their communities.
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Live webinar series recordings
Hydrogen and the role of the water utility
In this first webinar we explore the role of the modern utility in hydrogen and the evolving links to corporate and regulatory requirements.
Guest speakers
- Danielle Francis, Liveable Communities Manager - Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA)
- Ron Ben-David, Professorial Fellow - Monash University
Planning for uncertainty
In this first webinar we explore the role of the modern utility in hydrogen and the evolving links to corporate and regulatory requirements.
Guest speakers
- Fiona Simon, CEO - Australian Hydrogen Council
- Amanda Lewry, General Manager Sustainable Infrastructure – SA Water
- Daniel Visser, Technical Director, Water Treatment & Desalination – GHD
Water supply for green hydrogen
Do we have enough water to support a sustainable hydrogen economy in Australia? This third webinar explores how water requirements influence the feasibility of hydrogen production. We discuss water availability and water sources, ways to make hydrogen less water intensive, the role of manufactured water, as well as the social license and equity issues related to water availability for hydrogen production.
Guest speakers
- Glenn Stockton, Chief Executive Officer – Sunwater
- Matthew Brannock, Water for Future Fuels Lead – GHD
Hydrogen and the circular economy
This fourth webinar explores the connection between hydrogen production and the circular economy. We examined the advantages and risks of considering the two together and discussed what role hydrogen might play in moving towards a more circular and sustainable water and energy future.
Guest speakers
- Heather Griffith, Director Policy Partnerships - Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action
- Greg Finlayson, Technical Director – Water Treatment - GHD