Australia can supply Germany with green hydrogen at competitive prices – feasibility study

Germany should be able to import green hydrogen from Australia at competitive prices, a feasibility study has revealed. German industry association BDI and the National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) said interim results showed that “the import of sustainably produced Australian hydrogen in large quantities is technically and economically viable despite the great distance.” Transport via ships doesn’t present any regulatory hurdles either, according to the study conducted by the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (IKEM). “Hydrogen from Australia plays an important role for energy supply security, and a rapid exit from Russian fossil fuels,” BDI and acatech said.

Germany could in theory import hydrogen at competitive prices from Australia today, for example in the form of ammonia, the organisations said. But they added: “For an effective development of hydrogen supply chains, the EU needs to significantly simplify its planning and approval procedures, for example for import terminals or an effective distribution structure within Europe.” The German-Australian hydrogen project “HySupply” has been investigating the feasibility of a “hydrogen bridge” between the two countries since the end of 2020 on behalf of both governments, which signed a letter of intent on green hydrogen production last year.

In the fight against climate change, hydrogen made with renewable electricity is seen as a vital tool for decarbonising sectors with particularly stubborn emissions, such as heavy industry and aviation. Germany is set to import the lion’s share of its future hydrogen requirements, because it simply doesn’t have the space necessary for renewable production. Berlin is also in talks with many other countries for possible supplies, such as Chile, Morocco and Canada.