Estimates - Industry & Resources - Green Hydrogen

9 June

CHAIR - We'll go to the next question. Minister, in 2020 your government produced a Green Hydrogen Action Plan to be a significant global supplier of renewable hydrogen for export and domestic use by 2030. The green hydrogen industry, meanwhile, has been massively overhyped and we're seeing projects collapse all over the country. In 2024, your government received $70 million from the Australian Government towards the $300 million Tasmanian Green Hydrogen Hub project. Can you tell the committee, how much has been spent by your government in addition to the $70 million from the federal government to develop the Green Hydrogen Hub?

Mr ELLIS - More on the energy space. I will pass to Ms Pinto.

Ms PINTO - The $70 million funding agreement with the Australian Government was on the basis, so the grant agreement has a commitment from both jurisdictions as to the enabling infrastructure to support the development of the hydrogen industry in Tasmanian, specifically in the Bell Bay region, so at the time that the funding agreement was determined, Tasmania outlined the degree of enabling infrastructure that would need to be established in that region to support the development of a hydrogen industry. I'm talking specifically about ports, I'm talking transmission, I'm talking water infrastructure, land, et cetera. As a part of determining that $70 million funding, the Tasmanian Government - and I will need to clarify the exact percentage -I may not have it in front of me - I believe about 23 per cent is the share of the Commonwealth to Tasmania, and that would include then the amount of investment that would be occurring in Tasmania. So, as an example TasNetworks would need to do an upgrade of the George Town substation. That now has gone through a period of development as a part of the regulated asset and would have a certain sum of money associated with that. So, that's the structure of the grant. In terms of the expenditure that has been undertaken for this grant to date, there was just over $11 million in funding that had been provided by the Tasmanian Government towards the Green Hydrogen Hub project. In terms of how much has been spent to date, I am just checking my records. I might not have that available with me at the moment, minister. It is in another portfolio and I just don't think I have that exact amount of expenditure to date, but we can provide that.

CHAIR - I'm just curious to know, there's been a theme for many of my questions, but whether any other Tasmanian taxpayer money has been spent on this project? Are you talking about upgrades, upgrades to substations and so forth, like, has that been included?

Ms PINTO - I'm going to check with my colleagues in terms of the - I will check in terms of the $11 million funding. There was an allocation in a prior budget period for $11 million, I believe - and I will get that clarified and checked for the record - towards the Tasmanian Green Hydrogen Hub.

CHAIR - Thank you. Because I'm just not, and I'm just wondering, have we managed to - we haven't managed to export any of the green hydrogen?

Ms PINTO - Through you, minister. The intent of the agreement between the Tasmanian Government and the Australian Government is to establish the enabling infrastructure to support an industry. So, its objective is to support the enabling infrastructure to occur that would then bring along a proponent. At the moment we have a provisional proponent that has been confirmed for the Tasmanian Green Hydrogen Hub, which is Bell Bay Powerfuels. We have an agreement between the deed of commitment between the government and Bell Bay Powerfuels. They are in early stages of development but without the enabling infrastructure are not in the position to be able to operate, if you know what I'm saying. So, it's about getting that foundation enabling infrastructure.

****

CHAIR - Thank you. Because I'm just not, and I'm just wondering, have we managed to - we haven't managed to export any of the green hydrogen?

****

Ms PINTO - Thank you, and through you, minister, in answer to the question earlier requested by the Chair, I can confirm for the Tas Green Hydrogen Hub, the government assigned $11 million in funding, and total spend to date on that project is $6.551 million approximately.

CHAIR - Thank you. So, minister, I believe that in 2024 there was $8 million of Tasmanian taxpayers' money given to Countrywide to set up green hydrogen hubs and a hydrogen transport network, and I presume that that's separate from that money that Ms Pinto is talking about. So can you just tell us what's been delivered in relation to those projects.

Mr ELLIS - Thanks, Chair. Again, not my portfolio, but happy to try and assist the committee, if Ms Pinto is -

Ms PINTO - Thank you. So through you, minister, just acknowledging that is a matter for the Energy portfolio, but in answering that question, the government had a number of initiatives that were being considered in the hydrogen space. One was what's referred to as a green hydrogen price reduction scheme, of which you've made reference to the recipient of a Crown Law grant, being Countrywide, to that scheme; and the intention with that scheme is that as new technology comes online in an industry like energy, it takes time for that technology to be competitive with substitutes. So it's a very pertinent example at this point in time, with the fuel crisis that's occurring globally: so diesel is a is a very heavily-relied-upon fossil fuel, and green hydrogen in different forms, including in other forms such as ammonia and methanol, can be used as a substitute. What you can see occurring is that the difference between what the market's prepared today to pay and what the cost of production is can have a differential, so the intention of the green hydrogen price reduction scheme and the sum of 8 million was to bridge that gap. The conditions of that contract with Crown law deed with the recipients is it only triggers once they start production, and that hasn't occurred as yet. They're still going through a development phase. So that funding hasn't been called on as yet.

CHAIR - Okay, I suppose you know, like I've been asking these questions about various green hydrogen projects and I wonder, minister, if you can take on notice to list all of the money spent, all taxpayer money spent, on these projects to date, please.

Mr ELLIS - As I mentioned, Chair, happy to follow up with minister Duigan and working with the department.

Helen Burnet