AUD 70 Million ARENA Funding For Renewable Hydrogen

• In a new funding round launched, ARENA is offering $70 million to fund hydrogen electrolysers powered by renewable energy
• Electrolysers can either by powered by renewables directly or through PPAs or large scale generation certificates
• Preferred electrolyser capacity among eligible projects is 10 MW or more, though minimum capacity is 5 MW
• ARENA hopes select projects will be among the largest electrolysers in the world on completion
• EoI deadline is May 26, 2020

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is inviting expression of interest (EOI) for hydrogen electrolyser technology to claim AUD 70 million ($44 million) funding. Eligible commercial scale electrolysers need to be powered by renewable energy sources either directly or through power purchase agreements (PPA) or through large scale generation certificates. Construction on the facilities should start as early as 2021.

As per the announcement, ARENA will support 2 or more large scale renewable hydrogen projects with a minimum capacity of 5 MW for electrolysers, however preference will be given to projects where electrolyser capacity is 10 MW or larger as it expects these to be among the largest electrolysers globally, in line with Australia's goal of producing green hydrogen under $2 per kg. It is touted as H2 under $2 and when this happens, hydrogen will be cost competitive with natural gas and other fuels.

"To take advantage of hydrogen's potential, we need to increase the scale and reduce the costs of electrolyser installations in Australia. Through this round, ARENA aims to share knowledge on technical and commercial parameters for commercial-scale renewable hydrogen production for domestic and international markets," said ARENA CEO Darren Miller who believes this funding will advance the commercialization of hydrogen production in the country.

Last date to submit EOI is May 26, 2020. Further details about the AUD 70 million funding round available on ARENA's website.

Shortlisted projects will be later invited to submit full applications later this year and funding should be disbursed to winners by the end of 2020.