PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Northern Australian government on Friday unveiled its first ever Renewable Hydrogen Strategy to exploit the global demand for clean energy.

The strategy outlines a five point hydrogen plan under which the industry and government would work together to prepare industry capabilities and logistics and supply chains to encourage the development of local resources, investigating how to optimise the territory’s resources and infrastructure to facilitate hydrogen industry development, and promoting the territory as an attractive export hub while investigating domestic hydrogen applications to build demand.

The parties would also work to incorporate new ways of researching, trialling and adapting emerging technologies to optimise hydrogen opportunities, and would establish effective regulatory frameworks for the development of the hydrogen industry.

“The government understands the enormous potential our renewable energy resources have to create permanent local jobs for territorians,” said Renewables, Energy and Essential Services Minister Dale Wakefield.

“We can be a leader in the world transition to renewable hydrogen and this strategy provides the vision and the plan to make it happen.

“The strategy complements our record of delivering more renewables, taking real action on climate change, and the strongest protections for water and our environment the territory has ever seen.”

The Australian Hydrogen Council has welcomed the strategy, with CEO Fiona Simon saying it was an important step forward in being able to provide additional opportunities, including developing local industry and growing into an attractive export hub.

“I want to congratulate the Northern Territory government on this milestone, and we look forward to working with all stakeholders towards delivering the territory’s strategy, which also works with the National Hydrogen Strategy.

“Realising the huge potential of hydrogen will require continued collaboration, development and investment if we are to progress the technologies necessary to get the industry to scale,” Simon said.