{"id":33590,"date":"2025-07-07T14:15:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T04:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=33590"},"modified":"2025-07-07T14:15:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T04:15:13","slug":"albanese-government-backs-renewable-boost-to-hunter-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2025\/07\/07\/albanese-government-backs-renewable-boost-to-hunter-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"ALBANESE GOVERNMENT BACKS RENEWABLE BOOST TO HUNTER VALLEY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"ALBANESE<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Albanese Government is securing Australia\u2019s energy future with a Hydrogen Headstart investment in Orica\u2019s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project will secure the future of ammonia and explosives manufacturing at Kooragang Island by reducing its reliance on gas. This keeps local manufacturing competitive and sustainable, supporting jobs and the long-term future of the industry in the Hunter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Located on Kooragang Island in the heart of the Hunter Region, the project will deploy a 50 MW electrolyser powered by renewable energy, producing around 4,200 tonnes of green hydrogen each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By switching from gas to green hydrogen, the project will also significantly cut emissions from Orica\u2019s ammonia production facility and help produce green ammonia for domestic use across mining, agriculture and manufacturing sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will also help open Australia to exporting clean renewable hydrogen overseas, and the jobs and economic benefits that will come with it as the world looks to decarbonise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delivered through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the funding willbring down costs and accelerate the uptake of renewable hydrogen in heavy industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydrogen Headstart supports large-scale renewable hydrogen projects such as Orica\u2019s by bridging the commercial gap between the cost of producing renewable hydrogen and the current market price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before funding is released, Orica will work closely with ARENA to meet a number of conditions and demonstrate progress toward key milestones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This $432 million announcement follows the $814 million awarded to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners\u2019 Murchison Green Hydrogen Project in Western Australia earlier this year. Together, these two landmark investments mark the conclusion of Hydrogen Headstart Round 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building on this success, Round 2 is now open for consultation here (hyperlink). This is an opportunity for industry to help refine implementation of the program and take on lessons for the first round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consultation will run for [4 weeks] with a view to opening the next round of the program in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub is securing long-term, high-quality jobs for the region, while decarbonising industries that are vital to our economy.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis investment shows we can secure existing industries such as ammonia and fertiliser production by transforming how they\u2019re powered \u2013 creating new clean-tech jobs and future-proofing the Hunter\u2019s economic base.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegional communities like the Hunter will lead the way in Australia\u2019s transformation into a renewable energy superpower \u2013 and this project is a great example of what that looks like in practice.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon MP:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis landmark investment puts our region right at the forefront of Australia\u2019s clean energy future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe $432 million investment will create good local jobs, drive innovation, reduce emissions, and help position Newcastle and the Hunter as a national leader in renewable energy production.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis builds on the Albanese Labor Government\u2019s significant investments in new energy infrastructure at the Port of Newcastle, in clean energy training at TAFE, and in research and development at the University of Newcastle.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNewcastle and the Hunter has powered Australia for generations, and with this investment, will continue to do so, but in a way that is sustainable and future focused.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Albanese Government is securing Australia\u2019s energy future with a Hydrogen Headstart investment in Orica\u2019s Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub. The project will secure the future of ammonia and explosives manufacturing at Kooragang Island by reducing its reliance on gas. This keeps local manufacturing competitive and sustainable, supporting jobs and the long-term future of the industry … Continue reading “ALBANESE GOVERNMENT BACKS RENEWABLE BOOST TO HUNTER VALLEY”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33590"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33591,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33590\/revisions\/33591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}