WWF WELCOMES INVESTMENT IN GLOBALLY IMPORTANT TASMANIAN RENEWABLE HYDROGEN HUB

The World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia has welcomed a $70 million commitment to develop a renewable hydrogen hub at Bell Bay in Northern Tasmania.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen and Tasmanian Minister for Energy and Renewables Nick Duigan announced the deal today, saying the hub will provide jobs, support new manufacturing, and spur investment in regional Australia.

Since 2019, WWF-Australia has been calling for coordinated investment in renewable energy industrial precincts like Bell Bay to secure Australia’s future as a renewable energy superpower.

"Regional communities can continue to drive Australia’s energy and manufacturing industries as the world decarbonises,” said Dermot O’Gorman, CEO of WWF-Australia. 

“Today’s announcement is a big step towards making Bell Bay a globally important centre for renewable hydrogen and renewable-powered manufacturing.

“Renewable hydrogen has a huge role to play in decarbonising hard-to-decarbonise places and sectors such as shipping and steel.

“This provides opportunities for existing industrial centres such as Bell Bay to export renewable hydrogen and zero-carbon commodities such aluminium and alloys to the world.”

The Bell Bay hub is expected to produce 45,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year.

The Tasmanian Government is leading a consortium of partners to deliver the project by early 2028.

“Governments around the world are investing billions to unlock potentially trillions of private sector investments to accelerate our transition to clean, reliable, renewable energy. This is a great national example of Australia stepping up too,” said Mr O’Gorman.

“It’s now essential that other industrial centres, with their manufacturing history, skills, and infrastructure, are also supported to become renewable energy industrial precincts.

“These places were the backbone of our economy for decades and we need to ensure they are “repowered” to continue to prosper in a renewable energy-powered future.

“With the right renewables projects in the right locations across our nation, we can build a future that benefits our environment, communities and the economy.”