During the sell-out Summit of the 2022 Hydrogen Americas Summit, we spoke to global and regional #hydrogen and #energy leaders about the future outlook for the hydrogen industry. Including Dr. Fiona Simon, CEO, Australian Hydrogen Council.
What action can be taken to grow the hydrogen economy?
Well my own appetite for action is enormous, then again I have an easier job because I get to observe other peoples action with projects. I think there’s an awful lot that we need to do, I do think a lot of that is driven by what Governments need to do first though, because I think the markets are waiting the markets are observing, but it’s pretty hard for any business to put an awful lot, at least in Australia, at this stage an awful lot into hydrogen when there is not necessarily the pay back at this point in time. But I get so excited by things like the Inflation Reduction Act, those means of encouraging investments, the investment dollars, the tradability of that, these are the things we need to see and that will drive the action. And without it and when it’s not just a subsidy question but a market question, it actually starts to become something where Governments aren’t having to pick and choose winners and losers, it becomes more of a market process which I think is really vital.
When will you begin exporting hydrogen to countries that need it?
There’s different versions of that depending on who’s making the case, I keep finding that year on year it comes earlier so we’d initially been talking about some kind of medium scale by 2030, I’m now hearing 2025, 2027, and some are talking 2024. But I think the question fundamentally is but what is it you’re exporting? Is it a thermos full or is it actually a ship full and of what? And these are some of the things that remain either very closely held because it’s still, it’s not competitive yet, but people act as if it was, which is good.
What is exciting about the hydrogen ecosystem?
What I think is exciting is the way it connects so many different parts of the economy and what it means for us to be doing a good job, in a Governance sense as well. So, it’s not just about decarbonization, I mean that’s enough, but it’s not just about that. With the conversations that we’ve all been having, in this last year in particular, and talking about national security, energy security, economic security, recognizing the role that hydrogen plays to support renewable electricity, as that long term storable, transportable, green molecule that will then help actually support us to getting through the whole energy transition, and to do so in a way that promotes diversity and peoples energy use. And then can help support us all through future scenarios where they may again be hostile nations seeking to hold people, seeking to hold people hostage on the basis of access to energy. In a world where we are all using renewable electricity in so far as we can, and then there are multiple ways of transporting molecules like hydrogen, and by like I mean ammonia and the other derivatives, then we’ve started to take that that power that some countries would have over others on energy away, and that can only be a good thing.
Why is this summit important to you?
I think the importance, it’s actually less about the plenaries, it’s less about hearing everyone say the things which most of us in the industry know to be true. It is in the side meetings, it’s in the catching up with people face to face, the swapping of business cards, and all the activity that is happening, I guess beneath the surface, because that’s where I hope the deals are being done.
#HydrogenAmericas2023
Join them at global and regional #hydrogen and #energy leaders at #HydrogenAmericas2023 Summit & Exhibition taking place 2-3 October 2023 in Washington D.C. Produced by the Sustainable Energy Council and Co-Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy, the event welcomes 3000 industry professionals, 140+ Speakers, 60 Exhibitors and 30 sponsors to share latest news, establish key connections and sign business deals to accelerate the deployment of the hydrogen economy. Visit our website for more information & to register your place among hydrogen pioneers: https://www.hydrogen-americas-summit.com/
