CONNECT – ENGAGE - SUPPORT
A hydrogen technology cluster, Southern Queensland Hydrogen Industry Institute (SQHII), has been established in Toowoomba within TSBE, in partnership with NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) and supported by the Queensland Government. To find out more about SQHII's capability, please see below.
Hydrogen to be the next industry opportunity
Commercial production of hydrogen is one of the next big opportunities for growing the diversity of energy production in the Surat Basin.
Federal and State Government have identified hydrogen as the next renewable energy source to help our country and to lower emissions and meet net zero targets.
To drive lower emissions and eventual net-zero by industry, a source of green energy is required, produced at solar or windfarms, by hydrogen projects for the green fuel’s production.
With the emerging industry comes new jobs and transitional type jobs for existing workers.
Competitve advantages for the Toowoomba and Surat Basin region
New hydrogen has uses in such sectors as transport, local government wastewater, remote power generation and export.
The Toowoomba and Surat Basin region is an industrial precinct with:
- A highly skilled and experienced workforce which provides confidence and certainty to project owners looking to invest in the region
- A diverse energy production - gas, coal, oil through to wind, solar, pumped hydro, carbon capture and hydrogen
- A strong freight and logistics industry linking rail, road, air and sea
- A established transport distribution network including world class production facilities and transmission pipelines
- A mix of manufacturing and fabrication capacity which provides additional opportunity to support new energy market needs
Overall,Toowoomba and the Surat Basin has an abundance of green energy capacity. The uptake of green energy production will maximise the energy infrastructure that has already been built and will ensure longevity by reducing reliance on traditional energy production. The region understands the opportunities from co-existence with other primary industry sectors like the agricultural, professional service and health to benefit through the value chain and i aware of the importance of supporting project developers in the traditional resources space as they look to reduce their carbon emissions through the utilisation of blue and grey carbon capture projects.
SQHII Project Opportunities
The SQHII represents a number of companies from industries interested in the region’s development of hydrogen and are looking at diversifying their capability to support hydrogen projects. There is current interest from these companies in production, storage, transport & distribution and are also potential end-users. They also are designers, constructors and companies that operate and maintain facilities. SQHII is to link the firms involved and support any projects that emerge from the group.
SQHII is to link the firms involved and support any projects that emerge from the group.
Hydrogen Industry Capability Assessment Southern Queensland
CS Energy's Kogan Creek Hydrogen Demonstration Plant is the regions' first funded project for construction set for mid 2022. The project in Chinchilla will produce alternate fuel in the form of hydrogen for the ‘hard to decarbonise’ long-haul transport industry. Check out this video to find out more about exploring the potential of hydrogen here.
Regional businesses can register their capabilities through a Hydrogen Capability Mapping questionnaire, designed to help major project buyers understand our contractor network and the goods and services available in this region. Completing the questionnaire and registering will increase the visibility of the business and provide insight into where they can target work packages on major projects, such as hydrogen.
The outcomes of the Hydrogen Capability Mapping Project will provide valuable information on local capability and identify opportunities for local businesses in the supply chain, allowing them to upskill as well as attract new organisations to the region.
This mapping project will collect data to help us get a big picture view of local capability and provide information that will open the door for further discussions around training and upskilling for the future.
Results of the supply chain analysis has now been formalised as a report and business directory. Please click the image below to download a copy. For more information on the report and business directory please contact Reagan Parle [email protected].
Hydrogen Capability Mapping Executive Summary
Results from the Hydrogen Demonstration Plant questionnaire of 171 businesses.
Hydrogen Skills Development
The most recent project to be developed under the SQHII is the Hydrogen Skills Development Project.
SQHII in collabora
tion with a strategically placed stakeholder group, has appointed a hydrogen skills officer to understand the learnings and skills that will be required to design, construct, operate and maintain a hydrogen project in the Toowoomba and Surat Basin region including the trade training, micro-credentials, industry related experience and support mechanisms needed to foster successful outcomes. By undertaking this initiative, It will not only identify operators, businesses and contractors who have a strong desire and aptitude to grow but may lack upgraded skills in their workforce to diversify into hydrogen but will identify different opportunities for diversification within the supply chain and their workforces that may not currently exist.
Our mission is to extract maximum economic and industry development outcomes for our community, including inward investment from expansion of the new and our existing energy infrastructure in our region. To achieve this, we will work closely with key partners taking a leadership position in hydrogen development as the energy industry transitions to carbon neutral, cleaner and greener renewable energy sources which will ultimately grow an adaptable capable workforce from our existing skills base.
With approximately over 30 hydrogen related projects in the works for Queensland, it is a crucial time to understand the upskilling and training required as the transition to renewable continues to take precedence.
Should you wish to contribute to the hydrogen skills project or are interested in diversifying into the hydrogen market, please contact Hayley Hoefler [email protected].
Stakeholder Group
