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Representational image. With more than 20% of the global hydrogen projects announced in Australia and a AU$200 billion worth projects in the pipeline, the country is expected to be a global leader in the green hydrogen sector. Pixabay

Australia's Labor government has set a monumental target of producing 15 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually by 2050, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen announced Friday.

Bowen, while releasing the National Hydrogen Strategy at the Asia-Pacific Hydrogen Conference in Brisbane, also signed a AU$660 million joint venture with German State Secretary for climate Anja Hajduk to produce green carbon.

The deal will fall under the German Government's H2Global auction mechanism and the project fund will be shared by both the countries, reported Renew Economy.

H2Global scheme is intended to be a trade corridor between Australia and the European Union for green hydrogen.

"In a few short years, the world has committed to monumental investments in hydrogen," The Guardian quoted Bowen. "We weren't going to leave Australia's green hydrogen potential to drift behind in this environment."

The 2024 National Hydrogen Strategy is a framework aimed at boosting the production and export of green hydrogen. The federal government has allocated a budget of AU$8 billion to support the initiative. First framed in 2019, the strategy framework was an effort with the collaboration of the industry and the state and territory governments.

With more than 20% of the global hydrogen projects announced in Australia, according to the International Energy Agency, and AU$200 billion worth projects in the pipeline, the country is expected to be a global leader in the green hydrogen sector.

Bowen said the government also expected an investment of AU$50 billion in the private sector, pushing Australia to produce more than 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030.

"Having this blueprint also informs future infrastructure planning and investments across all Australia's governments, and outlines how Australia can take advantage of the global transition to net-zero, by underpinning new domestic manufacturing such as green metals and chemicals, as well as energy exports to our international partners," Bowen stated.

Chief executive of the Australian Hydrogen Council Fiona Simon described the national strategy as "quite an evolutionary step," adding, "We are absolutely moving ahead."