Day One - 24 March

GO TO DAY TWO GO TO Pre-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

REGISTER

You can attend Australian Hydrogen Forum in-person or virtual,  though in-depth learning workshop sessions are in-person only.

mechanisms to find profit in hydrogen projects
08:00
Registration, coffee and networking

08:50
Opening remarks from the Chair

Peta Ashworth
Director, Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership
University of Queensland

How government policy and incentives can speed up the transition to viable hydrogen

09:00
MINISTERIAL ADDRESS: Pursuing a viable hydrogen economy through policy and incentives in Queensland

The Hon Mick De Brenni
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen and Minister for Public Works and Procurement
Queensland Government

09:10
MINISTERIAL ADDRESS: The potential for renewable hydrogen in Victoria

The Hon Lily D’Ambrosio
Minister for Energy, Environment & Climate Change and Minister for Solar Homes
Victorian Government (subject to parliamentary sitting dates) 

09:25
Policies and projects to support a thriving hydrogen industry in Australia
  • Getting beyond test projects and heavily subsidised studies
  • What price does hydrogen have to be produced at to make it a competitive fuel?
  • Developing a blueprint for viable market activation of a hydrogen industry
  • What sectors should Australia concentrate on?
  • Forecasting the impact of carbon price/tax on hydrogen’s competitiveness

Innes Willox
Chief Executive
Ai Group

9:55
Partner presentation

10:15
Developing the Australian hydrogen industry as a major global player by 2030
  • Exploring Australia’s clean hydrogen potential
  • Examining future scenarios and their growth possibilities
  • Ensuring an adaptive approach that equips Australia to scale up quickly

Jo Evans
Deputy Secretary
Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (subject to parliamentary sitting dates)

10:45
MINISTERIAL ADDRESS: An update on hydrogen in Tasmania

The Hon Guy Barnett
Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction
Tasmanian Government (subject to parliamentary sitting dates)

11:00
Morning tea
Achieving profitability against hydrogen’s high CAPEX and OPEX costs

11:35
Moving the hydrogen industry onto a commercial footing
  • Creating a supply chain and expanding infrastructure to make hydrogen a viable alternative to fossil fuels
  • Scaling up clean hydrogen to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors
  • Making the economics work and finding the business case to invest
  • Understanding the necessary government policy to support a full hydrogen economy

Kobad Bhavnagri
Global Head of Industry and Building Decarbonization
BloombergNEF

12:05
PANEL DISCUSSION: How do hydrogen projects gain investment/shareholder approval?
  • Achieving immediate demonstrable savings or profitability to get support from Directors and shareholders
  • How should the internal infrastructure required to set up hydrogen production, storage and onsite use be accounted for?
  • What is the best way to lay out a realistic timeline for return on investment?

Moderator:

Vivek Dhar
Director - Mining and Energy Commodities Research
Commonwealth Bank

Panellists:

Rhys Tucker
Techno-Commercial Advisor
QEM

Merrill Gray
Managing Director
Hexagon Energy

Stephen Gauld
Managing Director
Infinite Blue Energy

 

12:45
Networking lunch

13:45
Proving hydrogen’s technical and ultimately commercial viability in large scale hydrogen projects
  • Economics of moving from feasibility study to practical application
  • Successfully progressing a study into reality
  • Finding the buyers to create a commercial supply chain
  • Scaling up – land sites, transport infrastructure

Craig de Laine
Executive General Manager Customer & Strategy
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG)

14:15
How does the emerging hydrogen sector balance risk and reward?
  • Justifying the investment hydrogen projects require against potential earnings
  • Balancing waiting for green hydrogen to ramp up against new applications (and demand for) blue hydrogen right now
  • Measuring concepts and application viability by removing demand side market risk, and then adding carbon offsets or other mechanisms
  • Ensuring that hydrogen projects will eventually have buyers that will offtake at a price that makes sense

Stephanie Unwin
Chief Executive Officer
Horizon Power

14:45
Afternoon tea
What new technologies and developments will bring costs down?

15:15
Opportunities for hydrogen technology development
  • Opportunities for hydrogen technology development
  • Increasing the efficiency of hydrogen production
  • Update on storage and carrier options
  • Emerging technologies to look out for

Patrick Hartley
Leader, CSIRO Hydrogen Industry Mission
CSIRO

15.45
Building consortiums and agreements that will progress profitability
  • Mitigating costs by sharing development infrastructure whilst maintaining the ability to make a profit in the long term
  • Ensuring agreements are practical and encourage co-operation
  • What does a ‘good’ offtake contract look like?

 

16:15
PANEL DISCUSSION: What are the best ways of reducing costs in hydrogen production?
  • Does investing in blue technology and infrastructure make sense as a stepping stone to green hydrogen?
  • How can the costs of converting existing infrastructure to be hydrogen compatible be reduced?
  • What is the best way to assess new technologies to see if they will genuinely reduce costs?

Moderator:

Benjy Lee
Independent Energy Consultant
Benjy Lee Consulting

Panellists:

Stephanie Unwin
Chief Executive Officer
Horizon Power

Craig de Laine
Executive General Manager Customer & Strategy
Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG)

16:55
Closing remarks from the Chair
17:00
End day one and networking drinks

19:00
Conference Dinner