With the war in Ukraine driving up oil and gas costs, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet’s trade mission to Japan focuses on alternate forms of clean energy, particularly green hydrogen.
Mr. Perrottet hopes to put his government’s myriad issues behind him and promote New South Wales as an attractive site for hydrogen supply.
“We don’t want people filling up with oil from Middle East, we want people filling up with hydrogen from NSW,” the premier told reporters at an Iwatani hydrogen refueling station in Tokyo.
The premier stated that New South Wales has the capacity and infrastructure to supply Japan and other markets with 110,000 tons of green hydrogen annually by 2030, with a blue Toyota hydrogen-powered vehicle parked behind him.
“We have two deep seaports, we have an abundance of renewable energy and NSW has a great opportunity to lead the nation when it comes to capital investment (and) job creation.”
As the world pushes for decarbonization, he hoped that his government will invest a staggering $270 billion in the pricey and immature industry.
The term “green hydrogen” refers to hydrogen produced through electrolysis – the separation of hydrogen and oxygen from water – using renewable electricity with zero direct emissions.
The premier stated that his government hopes to lower production costs to $2.80 per kilogram by 2030.
In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, the treasurer of New South Wales announced on Monday that the state, along with Victoria, will invest up to $20 million in hydrogen refueling stations along the Hume Highway, the busiest freight route in the east of Australia.
The NSW government announced its $3 billion incentive-laden Hydrogen Strategy last year.
However, experts on economic links between the two nations caution that the transition to a hydrogen-based energy mix would not occur quickly.
“It’s still a long way to go to make hydrogen a full-fledged energy source due to its production costs,” Australian National University PhD candidate Yuma Osaki told AAP.
“Japan is a leader in fuel cell technology, especially fuel cell vehicles, but there are only 55 hydrogen refuelling stations across Tokyo … and the number of conventional gas stations is 80 times larger.
“It is unrealistic to expect that hydrogen could serve as an alternative to the existing energy source, even though Japan sees reliance on hydrocarbon as inevitable in the short term.”
Mr. Perrottet stated that coal remains a significant export to Japan and that the move to other energy sources cannot be separated from exporting the fossil fuel.
“Coal will be around for a substantial period of time … it was made very clear to me … that the Japanese market is still strong for coal,” he told reporters after taking a test run filling up a hydrogen-run vehicle.
In Japan, there are fewer than 7,500 hydrogen-powered vehicles with room for more, and Mr. Perrottet sees this as fertile ground to translate to New South Wales, where his government is promoting the use of electric vehicles.
“If you don’t move with the times to get the government ahead of the curve, then future generations will suffer,” Mr Perrottet said.
