Green Hydrogen

Question

1. The 2024 National Hydrogen Strategy set a 2030 production target of 500,000 tonnes per annum. At Senate Estimates in May 2026, current production was confirmed at around 1,100 tonnes, about 0.2 per cent of target, requiring a more than 450-fold increase in under five years. DCCEEW's head of net-zero industries said it was ''too early to tell'' whether the target would be met. a. Can the Department confirm those production figures? b. Does the Department share DCCEEW's ''too early to tell'' assessment? If not, what is the Department's assessment of the deliverability of the 2030 target? c. When was the Department's assessment of the National Hydrogen Strategy delivery pathway most recently reviewed? 2. The Green Iron Investment Fund (DISR Portfolio Budget Statements, Table 2.1.2) profiles $50 million in 2026-27, scaling to $350 million in 2028-29 and $375 million in 2029-30, with the largest disbursements closest to the 2030 hydrogen target deadline. Commercial-scale green iron requires commercial-scale green hydrogen. a. With production at 0.2 per cent of the 2030 target, what is the Department's assumed timeline for green hydrogen availability at the scale required for projects funded under the Fund? b. Has the Department conducted any sensitivity analysis on Fund outcomes if green hydrogen supply does not reach commercial scale by 2030? 3. The $1 billion Commonwealth commitment to the Boyne Smelter (Budget Paper No. 3, p.103, and Budget Paper No. 2, p.122) is framed as supporting green aluminium production, which at commercial scale requires green hydrogen. a. What is the Department's assessment of when green hydrogen will be available at the scale Boyne requires? b. Has the Boyne partnership timeline been recalibrated to reflect the production gap, and at what point does green hydrogen supply become the binding constraint? 4. Round 1 of Hydrogen Headstart disbursed approximately $1.3 billion: $432 million to Orica near Newcastle and $814 million to the Murchison project in Western Australia. a. As of June 2026, how many tonnes of green hydrogen have Round 1-funded projects produced? b. What proportion of expected Round 1 output is already contracted to industrial offtakers? c. Are any DISR-funded industrial transformation recipients, including Boyne, Green Iron Investment Fund projects, or other named green metals offtakers, contracted offtakers of Round 1 output? 5. Budget Paper No. 2 (p.47) confirms Round 2 of Hydrogen Headstart has been halved from $2 billion to $1 billion. a. What was the Department's advice to Government on the impact of the reduction on industrial demand for green hydrogen? b. How many Round 2 expressions of interest had been received before the reduction, and have any prospective applicants been notified that the reduction will affect their projects? c. What is the Department's view of the reduction's impact on industrial offtake confidence for Boyne, Green Iron Investment Fund projects and other green metals projects? 6. Public reporting indicates the National Hydrogen Strategy is being overhauled. a. What is the Department's role in the overhaul, and what has the Department advised on the achievability of the 2030 target? b. Has the 2050 target also been reviewed, and will the overhauled Strategy lower the targets or maintain them? 7. The Department is delivering industrial transformation funding to programs whose viability depends on green hydrogen supply. a. Does the Department accept that production at 0.2 per cent of target, with less than five years remaining, is a material risk to those programs? If not, what evidence supports the Department's confidence that supply and demand will align? b. Can the Department reconcile the sharp Green Iron Investment Fund ramp-up in 2028-29 and 2029-30 with the DCCEEW supply-side reductions and the ''too early to tell'' position on the 2030 target?

Answer

See attached response.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• BI-029_Liddle_Green Hydrogen_DISR.pdf (opens in a new tab)