Green hydrogen subsidies and government investment support will evaporate in Australia if the opposition Liberal-National Coalition wins next year’s general election — prompting fears in the local H2 industry that the threat alone might scare off investors over the next 12 months.
Australian energy minister Chris Bowen, of the ruling centre-left Labor Party, told the otherwise buoyant Asia-Pacific Hydrogen Summit in Brisbane on Friday: “It’s no exaggeration to say green hydrogen will be on the ballot paper at the next federal election.
He explained that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government — which in the past year has introduced the A$2bn ($1.3bn) Hydrogen Headstart programme and the A$2/kg hydrogen production tax incentive — will continue to support investment in Australia’s green hydrogen sector if re-elected in next year’s federal election.
