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Running on Hydrogen
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September 14, 2018
Tokyo has declared that the 2020 Summer Olympics will be the first ‘Hydrogen Games’. We’ll see hydrogen cars on the roads, hydrogen for heating and cooking in the athletes’ village, and hydrogen fuel cells and refuelling stations across the city. It’s a glimpse of the future to which Japan has firmly committed: to trade its reliance on imported fossil fuels for hydrogen produced by low-emissions methods.
The Japanese idea of a ‘Hydrogen Society’ isn’t new. It’s simply never made commercial sense to produce hydrogen at scale for energy, from either of the two feasible low-emissions methods: electrolysis driven by renewable electricity, or production from coal or methane with carbon sequestration. The falling price for renewable electricity has altered the equation – and Japan’s emergence as a long-term, large-scale customer has transformed the global debate.
The race is on to be the hydrogen supplier of choice to one of the world’s largest energy markets.
For Australia, it could be a multibillion dollar prize.
Australia’s Chief Scientist and Chair of the Hydrogen Strategy Group, Dr Alan Finkel, outlines the potential for a hydrogen future, and the opportunities for Australia to lead the way.
Dr Finkel commenced as Australia’s Chief Scientist on 25 January 2016. He is Australia’s eighth Chief Scientist. Prior to his appointment, he was the eighth Chancellor of Monash University and the eighth President of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE).
He currently chairs the Hydrogen Strategy Group, a panel of leaders in technology, industry and policy reporting to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council. The Group’s briefing paper to COAG is available at https://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2018/08/briefing-paper-hydrogen-for-australias-future/.
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