Common threads emerging in the development of a global hydrogen industry

As you’d expect in the evolution of any fledgling industry, there are common threads that will be vital ‘sign-posts’ for us to all listen to and address carefully, in order for us to maximise the vast potential of a hydrogen industry both as an export, and for domestic use.

The speakers at the Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering event hosted at the Sydney University, presented on a range of these important ‘sign-post’ topics for Australia. The event was particularly important given the practical assessment of:

• the size of the market
• hydrogens role in a diverse mix of solutions to decarbonise key industries
• where we are with proving the technology and
• the elephant in the room - community perceptions of hydrogen and assessing enviromental impacts.

Think Tanks like these are key; and are much more than just talk fests. To maintain the momentum, forums where Government, industry, and researchers, are able to talk freely about the opportunities and challenges, will help get us there faster.

An interesting thread is around community concerns – this is a very real issue. According to Inframation’s annual global survey, investors also share the same view, revealing environmental, social and governance factors are a first order question, possibly at the expense of financial performance, having risen in importance from last year by 17%.

Social considerations are possibly the hardest for us to understand and address given the public can hold conflicting views, particularly in relation to balancing costs with risk. In this regard, perhaps some Government incentives may help in bridging the gap by building value generation to drive investment and scale. After all, energy balance is important but it’s the economic balance that drives solutions.

At GHD, we are at the centre of the discussion, helping to shape a clean energy future. Last month, we submitted a response to the Australian Government’s National Hydrogen Strategy Issues Papers for consideration by the Hydrogen Working Group, a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council initiative, chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel AO.

This is a multi-dimensional challenge and although we have some way to go, we’re pleased to be playing a practical part in the next stage of a transition towards achieving a cleaner global energy future.