The state government has offered $5 million from its $35 million Hydrogen Industry Development Fund (HIDF) to SeaLink to design and build one of Australia’s first green hydrogen-powered passenger ferries in Gladstone, on Queensland’s central coast. The project is expected to cost $20.6 million in total.
The ferry, which will be fueled by hydrogen fuel cells, will serve as a shuttle between Gladstone and LNG facilities on adjacent Curtis Island, according to SeaLink chief operating officer Donna Gauci.
“We will design and construct a world-first internationally compatible hydrogen-powered passenger ferry to join our SeaLink Gladstone fleet operating out of the Gladstone harbor,” she added, citing her significant experience in sustainable transportation solutions.
“The new hydrogen-powered ferry will be a big addition to our passenger transportation in Gladstone, capable of transporting up to 200 passengers and traveling at speeds of up to 20 knots (37 kph) up to a range of 50 nautical miles,” says the company.
The Kelsian Group includes SeaLink. The company runs roughly 4,000 buses, 120 ferries, and 24 light rail vehicles, making it one of Australia’s major land and maritime transportation companies.
The $5 million awards are the HIDF’s greatest investment thus far in the state’s burgeoning hydrogen supply chain, according to Energy Minister Mick de Brenni, but the second batch of funding will see roughly $20 million granted to hydrogen projects.
“Projects are progressing across Queensland from the north to the New South Wales border, and we will continue to introduce world-leading energy technologies to Queensland because it produces new employment,” he said.
“We are building a long-term, thriving domestic hydrogen ecosystem that will provide competitively priced renewable energy solutions to some of the world’s largest enterprises right here on our borders.”
“This is part of the Palaszczuk government’s commitment to a sustainable energy future, one in which innovation drives economic growth and provides Queenslanders with highly skilled employment.”
The ferry project, according to Deputy Premier Steven Miles, is just the latest green hydrogen initiative to be proposed for Gladstone, which is anticipated to play a vital part in the developing sector due to its existing gas infrastructure.
“Gladstone is on track to become one of Australia’s main hydrogen centers, and hydrogen-powered transportation is only one of the many new applications for hydrogen,” he added.
Gladstone is also home to Fortescue’s hydrogen electrolyzer plant, and state-owned electricity generator Stanwell is collaborating with a group of Australian and Japanese energy companies to assess the commercial viability of building a 3GW electrolysis plant to produce green hydrogen for export to Japan and use in the local industry.
