A cargo ship will make history when it transports Australia’s first shipment of liquid hydrogen, in a landmark move in the fight against .
The Suiso Frontier, will depart the Port of Hastings in Victoria next week en-route to with the world’s first ever cargo of liquified hydrogen from the Hydrogen Energy (HESC) project in the Trobe Valley.
Under the HESC project Victorian brown coal will be converted to hydrogen using a gasification process before it is loaded onto the Suiso Frontier for exporting.
The Suiso Frontier, will depart the Port of Hastings in Victoria next week en-route to Japan with the world’s first ever cargo of liquified hydrogen (pictured, the Susio Frontier arrives at the Port of Hastings in Victoria on Thursday)
The $500million project is being led by a mix of Japanese and Australian companies including Japan’s energy giant J-Power, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Shell and AGL.
The ship will undergo a two-week journey to Kobe, loaded with Australian-made hydrogen, in a world-first shipment of liquid hydrogen to hit an international market.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison described the initiative as a ‘world-first that would make Australia a global leader’ in the hydrogen industry.
‘A successful Australian hydrogen industry means lower emissions, greater energy production and more local jobs,’ Mr Morrison said in a statement on Friday.
‘The HESC project puts Australia at the forefront of the global energy transition to lower emissions through clean hydrogen, which is a fuel of the future.’
The project has received $100 million from both the Victorian and federal governments.
The ship will undergo a two-week journey to Kobe marking the first time the world has seen a shipment of liquid hydrogen transported to an international market.
An additional $7.5m in funding was also announced to support the $184m next stage of the project which aims to make 225,000t of carbon-neutral hydrogen each year.
Another $20m has also been pledged for the next phase of the CarbonNet project.
This would reduce global emissions by 1.8m tonnes a year, according to the Morrison government.
Minister for Industry, Energy and kampus terbaik di Lampung Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said the Suiso Frontier’s arrival was a huge milestone in Australia’s commitment to reducing emissions.
‘The HESC project has the potential to become a major source of clean energy which will help Australia and Japan both reach our goals of net zero emissions by 2050,’ he said.
However, the initiative has been criticised for using a coal-based process when cleaner and renewable methods can be used to produce hydrogen.
Under the current process only three tonnes of hydrogen can be produced per year from 160tonnes of brown coal.
