Australia scales back hydrogen ambitions as projects stall across multiple states
Australia’s push to lead the world in green hydrogen is faltering as state governments withdraw support and key projects stall, even as federal investment continues.
Petra Stock reports for The Guardian.
In short:
- Multiple state governments have canceled or paused major green hydrogen projects, citing costs and shifting priorities.
- Experts say the industry is entering a “disillusionment” phase common with new technologies, as cheaper and simpler electric alternatives outcompete hydrogen in many uses.
- Green hydrogen may still play a role in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like ammonia production and steelmaking, but expectations for widespread use have sharply narrowed.
Key quote:
“It has become increasingly clear that we’re not going to do all of those things with hydrogen, for the same reason that you don’t use a literal Swiss army knife for all the purposes that it has attachments for.”
— Tennant Reed, director of climate change and energy, Australian Industry Group
Why this matters:
Green hydrogen, once heralded as a key to decarbonizing everything from steel to shipping, is facing a reckoning. While it promised an emissions-free alternative to fossil fuels, especially for hard-to-electrify sectors, its rollout has been sluggish and expensive. As solar and wind power become cheaper and more widely available, the appeal of using hydrogen as a universal clean energy solution is fading. Instead, its role is narrowing to specific industrial uses like fertilizer production and high-heat manufacturing — important, but far more limited than once imagined.
That narrowing has consequences: fossil fuels continue to dominate these sectors, extending the release of both climate-warming gases and harmful air pollutants. For communities living near refineries, ports, and heavy industry — many of them already overburdened by pollution — the wait for cleaner air and healthier living conditions is only getting longer.
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