Press conference at Central Queensland University, Gladstone

CHRIS BOWEN: Nearly 9,000 jobs. Almost 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. That’s what we’ll be producing in Gladstone in the next few years due to the announcement that we’re making today.

Today on behalf of the Albanese Government I’m very pleased to be announcing almost $70 million of funding for Gladstone to turn Gladstone into a green hydrogen hub. We all know what a wonderful place Gladstone is. We all know that Gladstone has been the energy capital of Eastern Australia for generations. And it can be and will be into the future.

But that energy is changing, and green hydrogen is the key to storing renewable energy and exporting renewable energy. And we want Gladstone to be at the centre of that revolution, and it will be.

So the creation of a hydrogen hub here at Gladstone is a big deal. It’s a big deal for Gladstone. It’s a big deal for jobs. It’s a big deal for investment. It’s a big deal for renewable energy. And it’s a big deal for Australia’s future as a renewable energy superpower.

I’m particularly pleased about a couple of things about today’s announcement. I’m pleased that Central Queensland University will be playing a key role as a centre of excellence, and some of the work we’ve seen here today is a great launching pad for training for the jobs of the future. We want young people in Gladstone to be able to stay in Gladstone if they want to, to work in Gladstone in the jobs for the future, and we want young people from around Australia to see Gladstone as a centre where they can move to get good, well-paying jobs into the future.

I’m very pleased that the Gladstone Engineering Alliance is part of this. They’ll be making sure that local businesses get a chance for the action. They’ll be working with local businesses, some of the best engineering firms in Australia here at Gladstone will have an opportunity to engage.

And I’m pleased that Stanwell is playing a leading role in coordinating this and working with key partners. Stanwell is a great organisation, and their commitment working with us has been first class, and they’ll play a key leading role going forward.

Now, what I’m also excited about is that work will commence next year. And we’ll be up and running by 2027. That’s not far away. Often projects like this would take many, many more years than that to get up and running. But we’ll be producing here in Gladstone huge amounts of green hydrogen – more than double the amount of green hydrogen that we would need for hydrogen vehicles in Australia, for example, as hydrogen is part of the decarbonisation plans for heavy industry in particular.

Green hydrogen will play a role in decarbonising aviation and shipping going forward. And it’s really important that Gladstone be at the centre of that, and with today’s announcement they will be. So it’s a great announcement. Good for jobs. Good for invest. Good for renewable energy.

I’m going to ask Mayor Matt to add to my remarks and Mike from the Stanwell organisation, then we’ll take questions.

MATT BURNETT: Well, thanks, Minister, and it’s fantastic to be here at the Central Queensland University for yet another announcement for Gladstone. This is fantastic news for our community. It’s part of our 10-year economic transition road map where we want to see our ecosystem created, and it is absolutely happening right here, right now in Gladstone.

We saw just last week the billion-dollar announcement, or the billion-dollar sod-turning ceremony, with the Premier on Fitzroy to Gladstone pipeline. The very next day with the Deputy Premier, the sod-turning on the AGIG project. And here we are today, another $70 million putting Gladstone in the forefront of green renewable energy.

It’s going to be good news for our existing industries but also good news for the new industries that are coming to our region. I could not be happier. Thank you, Minister.

MICHAEL O'ROURKE: Thank you, Minister, and thank you, Matt. We’ve been dreaming big with the CQ-H2 project and with this funding, which is another step which puts us closer to the reality of that CQ-H2 project. So the Central Queensland Hydrogen project, it’s a fantastic project for this region. We’ve got world-class renewables on our doorstep. We’ve got a world-class port that’s able to enable us to export hydrogen, enable us to export ammonia to the rest of the world.

This is our way of being able to convert the Queensland sunshine and Queensland wind and to be able to turn that into ammonia, to be able to turn that into liquified hydrogen and be able to export that to the world. Thank you.

CHRIS BOWEN: Okay, folks. I’ll take easy questions; the Mayor will take hard questions.

JOURNALIST: So is Australia looking to become a hydrogen exporting country?

CHRIS BOWEN: Yes. Yes. As the world decarbonises, other countries that don’t have the advantageous that we do – our space, our expertise, our skills, our renewable resources in sun and wind – need help. And we’re here to provide that help. And there’s only really two ways of exporting renewable energy: submarine cables, which will play a role in examples like the SunCable, but then green hydrogen. And green hydrogen when you put it on a ship, you can take it anywhere. I mean, the amount of interest we’re getting to buy green hydrogen from Australia from places like Germany, for example, is enormous. Enormous. And we’re partnering with those countries. But we’ve got a lot of work to do to build the industry first, and today is a big step forward in doing that. And Gladstone will be a very big part of that story going forward.

JOURNALIST: And so a lot of money is being invested into hydrogen at the moment. We’re going through a cost of living crisis. How are residents going to benefit from this long term?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Gladstone residents will benefit from the jobs created. And, you know, those 9,000 jobs created, then they spend money in the local community as well and keep people in work. So it has flow on effects. And ultimately, as I said, we know that the cheapest form of energy is renewable energy. We need to store it, and green hydrogen is a great way of complementing batteries and pumped hydro and the other storage methods.

JOURNALIST: It’s not just good for Gladstone; it’s good for all of regional Queensland. And those flow-on effects really all across the country.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well put. I mean, that’s true. Gladstone is at the centre, but it will flow out right across central Queensland in terms of jobs created and economic activity. Absolutely.

JOURNALIST: In terms of all the growth that is coming to Gladstone and all these jobs, do you think Gladstone is going to need extra support to build the infrastructure to service the demands of its growing population?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, look, these are things that governments – all three levels of government – will work closely together on. Yes, you know, I’m aware of, you know, some of the pressures not just in Gladstone, whether it’s housing and water, going forward. There’s investments necessary. And the mayor just ran through some of the investment the Palaszczuk government is making. Of course we need to stay in close contact about that, but it’s a good problem to have. Managing growth, managing job creation, managing people wanting to move to Gladstone is a good problem to have.

JOURNALIST: And that would include a Bruce Highway upgrade, I expect?

CHRIS BOWEN: I think the Prime Minister’s interest and commitment to the Bruce Highway is very well known. 

JOURNALIST: When would commercialisation of hydrogen be introduced across the country?

CHRIS BOWEN: Look, I think we’re going to see really rapid progress, frankly not just in Australia but around the world. I mean, the whole world is looking at green hydrogen. You’ve got the United States Inflation Reduction Act with their targets to reduce the cost of hydrogen. As I said, we’re in close coordination. You know, in January when I was in Berlin I announced joint funding with the government of Germany in Australian green hydrogen projects. You’ve got the German government investing millions of euros to develop green hydrogen in Australia as they see the opportunities and potential. So between now and 2030 we’re going to see really big leaps forward in the commercialisation of green hydrogen.