Australia’s parliament has passed new legislation the government says will lay the foundations for a new hydrogen industry in Australia.

The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (OPGGS) Amendment Bills were approved by the Senate this week and are now awaiting royal assent.

Australian Resources Minister Keith Pitt claimed Friday the amendments removed one of the technical issues around the CarbonNet project, which is investigating the potential for establishing a commercial-scale carbon capture and storage network. It is hoped the project will help decarbonise industries, such as hydrogen and fertiliser production.

The new legislation clarifies jurisdictional issues with the project’s proposed underground CCS site, which lies between state and federal waters off the coast of Victoria.

“CarbonNet has been investigating the feasibility for a commercial-scale, multi-user CCS network in Gippsland, Victoria, and the Bills that passed through parliament removes one of the technical issues around the project,” Pitt explained.

“A proposed site straddles the boundary of state and Commonwealth waters and the Bill amends and clarifies the regulatory framework to help unlock the development of more projects in the Latrobe Valley – providing a cost effective pathway to low emissions.”

It is hoped the site will help offset the emissions from what could be one of the world’s first hydrogen export industries based on coal, using the brown coal resources of Australia’s Latrobe Valley.

"The abundant brown coal resources of the Latrobe Valley are ideal feedstock for one of the world’s first hydrogen export industries based on coal, generating new jobs and business opportunities in a regional area that has been suffering with the closure of the Hazelwood power station,” Pitt said.

The pilot plant will produce hydrogen from synthetic gas (syngas) produced by coal gasification, processing up to two tonnes of raw coal to produce up to 84 kilograms of 99.999% purity hydrogen each day.

The hydrogen produced will be liquefied in the Port of Hastings and transported to Kobe, Japan in a custom-made hydrogen carrier.

The government noted that the OPGGS Amendment Bills also granted stronger powers to the National Offshore Petroleum Safety & Environmental Management Authority (Nopsema) to fully respond in the event of an oil spill that crosses into state waters.

Energy Transition

Legislation passes to clear way for Australian carbon capture and storage project