City of Karratha secures funding to develop hydrogen cluster

The City of Karratha has secured seed funding to develop a hydrogen technology cluster in Karratha, making it one of 15 hydrogen clusters across Australia. The $75,000 fund from the National Energy Resource Australia will establish the Pilbara Hydrogen Cluster and will provide support for the growth of hydrogen in the region. The cluster will provide a forum for the development of specialised expertise, services, resources, suppliers and skills that will assist future hydrogen hubs and large-scale projects in the region. City of Karratha Mayor Peter Long said the funding was originally given to the City but it had been decided to encompass the whole region. “We wanted all the companies in the Pilbara to be involved so we wanted BHP as well as Rio Tinto, we wanted to have the lithium companies and we wanted to have the oil and gas companies,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of land, we’ve got plenty of sun, and the Pilbara has got a lot of wind as well so we’ve got lots of renewable energy to split water, to take the hydrogen, and we’ve got existing gas companies which already export to our major trade partners.” ATCO Gas business development general manager Russell James said the funding was fantastic for the region. “The region has a really strong opportunity in hydrogen production, particularly from an export potential, but also from a domestic and regional use to help decarbonise operations for transportation and power production,” he said. Yara Pilbara government and external relations manager Luke Blackbourn said getting a regional hydrogen hub could kickstart the potential of large-scale renewables and hydrogen as part of a new growth industry.