International Engagement and Export

The Tasmanian Green Hydrogen International Engagement and Export Strategy released in May 2022 sets out the vision for Tasmania to strengthen international partnerships in the field of green hydrogen. The strategy outlines three key objectives:

1. Identify international engagement opportunities for the export of green hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives.
2. Implement strategic international engagement activities to facilitate at scale export-focused green hydrogen supply chains.
3. Internationally promote Tasmania’s competitive advantage in renewable energy to provide benefit to the Tasmanian economy and community.

The Tasmanian Government has established the following international partnerships in green hydrogen:

• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Port of Rotterdam to work together to investigate the feasibility of future exports of green hydrogen from Bell Bay to the Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.
• MoU with the region of Flanders, Belgium on green hydrogen cooperation. The agreement focuses on the development of international supply chains, research and development and project collaboration.
• A Joint Declaration of Intent for collaboration in relation to green hydrogen with the State of Bremen in Germany. The scope of this agreement includes sharing of knowledge on climate change and Antarctic cooperation.  The agreement identifies five priority areas for cooperation that will support the development of a green hydrogen industry in Tasmania:
• Research, innovation and development.
• Hydrogen and wind energy industry and business development.
• Remote applications (Polar and offshore).
• Adaptation to the Consequences of Climate Change.
• Hydrogen export/import opportunities.

Additionally, Tasmania continues to have strong engagement with Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Denmark, France, Indonesia, the State of Washington, United States and other nations regarding hydrogen industry development and opportunities. These activities help inform green hydrogen industry development policy and expand investment opportunities in the green hydrogen and renewables energy sector.

In March 2023, the Tasmanian Government led a trade and investment mission to Japan and the Republic of Korea. The mission provided an opportunity for Tasmanian businesses to explore new trade and investment opportunities in the renewable energy and hydrogen sector.

ReCFIT will continue to engage with the Australian Antarctic Division and nations involved in the Antarctic region. This engagement aims to identify areas of collaboration on green hydrogen development to assist in decarbonising Antarctic transport and on-island operations and activating it as a market for Tasmania.

Tasmania-Port of Rotterdam Green Hydrogen Supply Chain Joint Feasibility Study

The Tasmania-Port of Rotterdam Hydrogen Supply Chain Joint Feasibility Study (the Study) is the key deliverable under the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Tasmanian Government and the Rotterdam Port Authority in December 2021.

The release of the Study will help to showcase Tasmania’s key capabilities to an international audience and provide confidence to the nascent renewable hydrogen industry that the export of green hydrogen or its derivates from Tasmania to Europe is feasible.

A key recommendation of the study is that local utilisation of green hydrogen should be a priority. This allows the Tasmanian people and climate to benefit first and aligns with the Tasmanian Government’s hydrogen policy.

The next step will be to encourage companies to establish trade lanes between Tasmania and Rotterdam and leverage the expertise of Europe’s largest port and largest energy importer.

Key points from the Study include:

• EU target of 10 Mtpa of green hydrogen imports by 2030.
• The European Commission has presented the REPowerEU Plan in May 2022, with goals of becoming independent of Russian fossil energy and accelerating the energy transition.
• EU funding mechanisms are being put in place to overcome gap between supply & demand pricing.
• These are available for hydrogen imported from outside the EU (e.g. HyXchange)
• Port of Rotterdam is a leader in Europe’s hydrogen infrastructure buildout, including upstream renewable power generation assets, with an established offshore wind energy sector.
• Strong opportunities for trade relations in these areas.
• Shipping distance from Tasmania to the Netherlands is not a limiting factor nor is it’s cost prohibitive to establish a supply chain.

The study aligns with the goals and objectives under the Tasmanian Green Hydrogen International Engagement and Export Strategy and the Tasmanian Government’s vision to export green hydrogen.

A PDF of the Tasmania-Port of Rotterdam Hydrogen Supply Chain Joint Feasibility Study can be found here.