Matt Kean, NSW Minister for Energy and Environment, Media Release, 23 August 2021

The rollout of the State’s hydrogen hubs is set to be accelerated, with the establishment of a collaboration platform to bring together potential hydrogen producers and users.

Energy Minister Matt Kean said the platform is about connecting sophisticated market players with new and emerging hydrogen users to fuel the development of hydrogen hubs in NSW.

“Green hydrogen will play a massive role in our future economic prosperity and decarbonising our economy,” Mr Kean said.

“We know that the best way to make green hydrogen commercially viable in Australia and NSW is to get to scale as quickly as possible.

“We also know our hydrogen hubs have the potential to become clean manufacturing powerhouses and we need to move fast, but that challenge is too big for one business alone.

“That is why we are bringing decision-makers and investors who want to deploy hydrogen into their businesses and industries together to help deliver hydrogen in a way that will drive scale, reduce costs, focus innovation and grow our workforce capabilities.”

Australian Hydrogen Council Chief Executive Officer, Fiona Simon, said “NSW’s hydrogen collaboration platform is a great tool to drive industry development and hub creation in NSW. It will bring organisations together to collaborate on NSW’s hydrogen future.”  

Chair of the Port Kembla Hydrogen Hub, Nigel McKinnon said “NSW’s hydrogen collaboration platform will help complement the ongoing work of the Port Kembla Hydrogen Hub by providing a space for key stakeholders to connect and collaborate as we work towards developing a burgeoning regional hydrogen ecosystem in the Illawarra.”

Cluster Manager for the NewH2 Hunter Hydrogen Technology Cluster, Clare Sykes, said  “NSW’s hydrogen collaboration platform is a valuable tool to strengthen the NSW hydrogen ecosystem. It will complement the work of the NewH2 Cluster by supporting the interaction between hydrogen hubs and technology clusters, bringing together key industry players, reducing overlap, and accelerating the growth of new hydrogen focused technologies.”

As part of the Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program, the NSW Government has committed a minimum of $70 million to develop hydrogen hubs in the Hunter and Illawarra regions.

Stakeholders that submitted a hydrogen-related registration of interest to the Net Zero Industry and Innovation Program will automatically receive an invitation to participate. Other organisations can get involved by contacting the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment’s, Hydrogen and Clean Energy team at hydrogen@planning.nsw.gov.au.