The Hunter region in New South Wales will house Australia’s first-ever hydrogen valley, unlocking potential world-class energy resources of the Central West, New England, and Hunter-Central Coast renewable energy zones. The project is dubbed the Hunter Hydrogen Network (H2N) and will carry out large-scale hydrogen production, transportation, and export projects to enable the development of a hydrogen economy in the region. The proposed plans will be carried out by Energy Estate in collaboration with AGL, APA Group, ITM Power, Idemitsu and Trafigura, RES Australia, and WalchaEnergy.
Energy Estate is also working closely with Beyond Zero Emissions to improve engagement with other regional stakeholders in Hunter to ensure the project is developed utilising local skills and resources. This could potentially bring new domestic manufacturing opportunities to the region Hunter.
Under plans for the first stage of the project, green hydrogen and the associated green feedstock will be produced for mining, vehicles, and other industrial uses in the Upper Hunter. The second phase assesses the transportation of hydrogen through a dedicated hydrogen pipeline to Newcastle to supply potential local users and exporters, including producers of green ammonia for export, green feedstock, green fuels, and hydrogen turbines to provide green dispatchable energy solutions.
The first phase is expected to be complete by 2024 while the second phase will be completed by 2026. The local government believes that creating a local supply chain will be vital in ensuring that Australia stays a competitive producer of green hydrogen for domestic and export markets.