Australia is pushing ahead with its plans to be a leading green hydrogen producer with a new A$2 billion funding program Hydrogen Headstart.

There’s some concern that the clean energy funding provided in the US’s Inflation Reduction Act will pull project and technology developers from around the world. Australia has ambitious plans to become a leading green hydrogen producer and exporter, and perhaps in part to counter a “brain drain” to overseas projects, the nation has allocated A$2 billion in its latest federal budget to subsidise projects that will reduce the cost of producing green hydrogen domestically.

The program will help bridge the commercial gap for early projects and put Australia on course for up to a gigawatt of electrolyser capacity by 2030 by funding two or three flagship projects that can be scaled up to meet that goal. Expressions of interest will be accepted in 2024, and contracts will be awarded and provided with ongoing payments over a 10-year period from 2026-27.