Australia is allocating clean energy funding towards reaching its net-zero emissions by 2050 in the 2022-23 Budget. The Treasurer delivered the Federal Budget on Tuesday 29 March 2022 where $1.3 billion will go towards carbon capture and storage technology, low-emissions steel and hydrogen development.
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The Budget includes $300 million for liquified natural gas and hydrogen production in Darwin that come with associated carbon capture and storage infrastructure. Another $200 million will be utilized in building new facilities in the Pilbara region that will use hydrogen and its derivatives like ammonia, as well as carbon capture utilization and storage.
Around $247.1 million are committed to supporting increased private sector investment in low-emissions technologies like hydrogen and will support the development of a hydrogen Guarantee of Origin scheme.
The Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme will certify low emissions hydrogen produced from renewable sources and fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage. It will enable Australian businesses to sell verified low carbon hydrogen domestically and worldwide.
Allocated are also $148.6 million to “support more investment in affordable and reliable power” including community microgrid projects in regional and rural communities.
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The 2022-23 Budget builds on the government’s initial $1.5 billion investment already committed through the Modern Manufacturing Strategy. The Modern Manufacturing Strategy is a strategy to help Australian manufacturing scale-up, become more competitive, and resilient in times of job insecurity, economic and political uncertainty. Clean energy is also one of the priorities in this strategy.
The $1.3 billion clean energy technologies investment marks the next step for Australia into building a strong economy for the future. It aims to help set the country on a path of green energy transition while also securing new jobs during a period of heightened global uncertainty.
