Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / The NTG is investing big bucks in the hydrogen industry...Matthew Sargeant from the Office of Sustainable Energy tells Katie how this puts the NT as global leaders in renewables

Transcript

The NTG is investing big bucks in the hydrogen industry...Matthew Sargeant from the Office of Sustainable Energy tells Katie how this puts the NT as global leaders in renewables · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Mix one O, four to nine.
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  Speaker 2: Now, we've learned that the territory government is investing five
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  Speaker 2: million dollars over four years to accelerate and expand the
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  Speaker 2: territory's hydrogen industry, following on from the master Plan released
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  Speaker 2: last year to position the Northern Territory as a global
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  Speaker 2: leader in transitioning to renewable energy. Joining me to discuss
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  Speaker 2: the investment is the Executive Director of Sustainable Energy at
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  Speaker 2: the Office of Sustainable Energy, Matthew Sergeant.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to.
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  Speaker 3: You, Morning, Katy.
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  Speaker 1: Matthew. Where are we.
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  Speaker 2: At right now when it comes to hydrogen in the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory, Because I reckon there's going to be lots
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  Speaker 2: of people listening like me who maybe don't have a
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  Speaker 2: huge idea you know what it all means and where
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  Speaker 2: we are at in the territory.
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  Speaker 3: Sure, at the moment, I suppose the industry is at
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  Speaker 3: an early stage of development. So we've seen a number
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  Speaker 3: of demonstration projects start up in other jurisdictions. We don't
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  Speaker 3: have anything going in the territory the moment, but we
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  Speaker 3: do have some major projects that are being looked at
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  Speaker 3: by some project proponents, including Desert Bloom in our springs
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  Speaker 3: and also global energy ventures on the Tiwi Islands. So
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  Speaker 3: they're looking to set up major production facilities to produce
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  Speaker 3: renewable hydrogen for export to places like China, Japan and Korea.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Right, so there is some you know, there is some
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  Speaker 2: stuff on the horizon already. With this five million dollar
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  Speaker 2: investment that was made yesterday, what is that going to
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  Speaker 2: mean for the Northern Territory. Is it going to mean
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  Speaker 2: that we can sort of try to get the ball rolling?
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  Speaker 3: It does, So the five million dollar investment from the
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  Speaker 3: charity of government's fantastic. It's going to allow the Office
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  Speaker 3: of Sustainable Energy to implement those enabling things that will
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  Speaker 3: help develop the industry. So we're looking at establishing fits
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  Speaker 3: for purpose standards and regulations, putting in place measures to
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  Speaker 3: ensure that our workforce has the skills and capabilities to
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  Speaker 3: fill jobs within the emerging hydrogen industry, and ensuring that
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  Speaker 3: industry planning is integrated with things like infrastructure development and
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  Speaker 3: the transport on a logistic sector.
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  Speaker 2: You know, when you talk about this announcement, what is
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  Speaker 2: it sort of going to do or what you know,
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  Speaker 2: what's it going to be doing in terms of filling
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  Speaker 2: that gap. I suppose in terms of the energy market,
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  Speaker 2: it sounds like it's more sort of you know, trying
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  Speaker 2: to get us going right from the start.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, So renewable hydrogen has a huge promise. So it's
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  Speaker 3: an emissions free technology, so it can be produced and
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  Speaker 3: used without any greenhouse gas emissions, and it can be
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  Speaker 3: used in applications to replace things like eagel and also
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  Speaker 3: natural gas, in industries like transport, electricity generation, and in
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  Speaker 3: industrial applications such as fertilizer manufacturing. So renewable hydrogen presents
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  Speaker 3: an opportunity for the territory to reduce its own greenhouse
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  Speaker 3: gas emissions and to create jobs through the development of
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  Speaker 3: an export industry.
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  Speaker 2: We talk a lot about gas, or we certainly you know,
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  Speaker 2: hear a lot about gas in the Northern Territory, but
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  Speaker 2: by the sounds of it, when it comes to high ydrogen,
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  Speaker 2: there are different different, different sort of forms.
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  Speaker 1: Is that a correct way of saying it.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, So there are a number of different forms. So
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  Speaker 3: the Northern Charity Government's focused on renewable or green hydrogen,
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  Speaker 3: which is basically producing hydrogen through electrolysis, basically taking electricity
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  Speaker 3: from renewable energy sources, running it through an electrolyzer, splitting
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  Speaker 3: out hydrogen atoms from water molecules, capturing the gas, and
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  Speaker 3: then using that, storing it and using it.
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  Speaker 2: How does that investment help us to move forward in
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  Speaker 2: this space.
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  Speaker 1: Here in the end.
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  Speaker 3: So I think there's two benefits from hydrogen. First Off,
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  Speaker 3: we need to I guess, reduce our missions ourselves. So
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  Speaker 3: the charity has a fifty per renewable target by twenty
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  Speaker 3: thirty and a net zeromissions target by twenty fifty. So
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  Speaker 3: if we're if renewable hydrogen and it has huge potential
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  Speaker 3: to assist us meeting those targets. But if we're it
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  Speaker 3: fits to make a significant contribution, we need to get
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  Speaker 3: started on planning the industry now. But also secondly, it's
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  Speaker 3: a technology that's attracted huge interests globally as a number
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  Speaker 3: of jurisdicis well. Basically most countries are seeking churches net
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  Speaker 3: zero emissions by twenty fifty, so there's going to be
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  Speaker 3: a huge demand for renewable energy. A number of countries
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  Speaker 3: can't produce that themselves. For example, they don't have the
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  Speaker 3: renewable resources that we have, and so they're looking to
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  Speaker 3: import and hydrogen as is basically a mechanism by which
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  Speaker 3: we can produce renewable energy, store it, transport it and
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  Speaker 3: sell it overseas. So it's huge potential for economic growth.
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  Speaker 2: So what makes us different here in the Northern Territory,
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  Speaker 2: Matthew likewise, it that we can do more than what
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  Speaker 2: some other locations around.
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  Speaker 3: The world can well, So we've got a few advantages.
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  Speaker 3: So we're very close to major importing or potentially importing
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  Speaker 3: countries in China, Japan and Korea. We have a well
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  Speaker 3: recognized world scale solar resource, so we have very good
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  Speaker 3: sunshine which reduced the cost of of hydrogen production. So
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  Speaker 3: there's some of the key benefits that we see for
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  Speaker 3: the territory. We also have a small jurisdiction and we
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  Speaker 3: can be agile in terms of amending our regulations to
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  Speaker 3: ensure that the industry development's are facilitated when it comes
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  Speaker 3: to energy.
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  Speaker 2: Right now, I suppose you'd have to say that there's
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  Speaker 2: a law of discussion on a national scale, and there's
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  Speaker 2: also that discussion about retaining some of our own resources
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  Speaker 2: to ensure that those Eastern States aren't the situation that
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  Speaker 2: they're in right now.
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  Speaker 1: Well, again, I.
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  Speaker 2: Suppose will there be measures put in place when it
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  Speaker 2: comes to hydrogen to ensure that we keep some of
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  Speaker 2: that resource here in the Northern Territory and indeed within
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  Speaker 2: Australia to benefit us.
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  Speaker 3: Look, that's an important consideration. I think the important step
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  Speaker 3: for us at the moment is to get the industry
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  Speaker 3: up and running. Yeah, so too attractive esment in those
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  Speaker 3: demonstration projects and also the large scale projects that are
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  Speaker 3: looking to export to international markets, and then look at
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  Speaker 3: ways that we can use some of that and access
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  Speaker 3: some of that hydrogen that's been produced for our own uses.
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  Speaker 2: How far away are we do you reckon, Matthew in
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  Speaker 2: terms of, you know, getting some of these projects up
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  Speaker 2: and running.
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  Speaker 3: So the project on the Tbo Islands, for example, is
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  Speaker 3: targeting exports from twenty twenty six. So we are very
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  Speaker 3: close to seeing companies make significant investment decisions about whether
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  Speaker 3: they'll proceed with those projects.
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  Speaker 2: All right, And I'm assuming as well that you know
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  Speaker 2: when we talk about these projects that one of the
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  Speaker 2: important factors at play as well is making sure that
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  Speaker 2: territorians are indeed employed.
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  Speaker 3: That's right, And part of the work that we're going
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  Speaker 3: to go through as the Office of Sustainable Energy is
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  Speaker 3: making sure that our workforce has the skills and capabilities
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  Speaker 3: to fill those roles, and make sure that you know
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  Speaker 3: we've got the workforce that can fill those jobs as
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  Speaker 3: opposed to having people come in from outside.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Matthew Sargent, I really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Appreciate you having a chat with US Executive Director of
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  Speaker 2: Sustainable Energy at the Office of Sustainable Energy. Thanks so
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  Speaker 2: much for your time this morning, Matthew, Thank Eddie, thank you.
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  Speaker 1: You are listening to Mix one O four nine's three
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  Speaker 1: sixty