Completed 2024 Hydrogen studies
This work was part of the Exploring for the Future Australia's Future Energy Resources project.
Hydrogen can provide a pathway for deep decarbonisation of the Australian and global economy, when it is produced from renewable energy or uses other low carbon emission technologies. As a fuel, it produces no carbon emissions, only water. Hydrogen is especially important for the heavy vehicle transport and shipping industries, where electrification is not practical, as well as for replacing coal and natural gas in industries like steel-making and fertiliser production.
A major area of research is underground hydrogen storage, which is a safe and economical option for large-scale, commercial storage.
Salt caverns are already used for hydrogen storage in the UK and USA. Geoscience Australia mapped rock salt accumulations across Australia, which can be used to create underground salt caverns for hydrogen storage. The feasibility of using depleted gas fields for hydrogen storage was also investigated.
Caverns in thick salt accumulations are typically created by solution-mining. This process has been used to develop caverns for liquid-petroleum gas storage in Texas since the 1950s. It is estimated that there are over 100 salt caverns used worldwide for storage of energy resource commodities, with 4 currently used for hydrogen and more planned in Europe and the USA.
The project also assessed Australia's natural hydrogen resources. Natural hydrogen is found all over Australia (in natural gas, gold mines, some iron-rich rocks and more). Geoscience Australia collected and analysed gas samples from different geological settings to better understand this new potential energy resource.
The Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool (HEFT) is an online decision support tool used to assess the economic feasibility of hydrogen projects in Australia.
Building on Geoscience Australia's geospatial-economic expertise, HEFT helps identify prospective hydrogen production regions and zones, enabling decision-makers, planners and investors to identify the optimal regions to establish new hydrogen projects and production hubs.
Developed in collaboration with Monash University, HEFT includes a break-even analysis, underground hydrogen storage, liquid hydrogen, ammonia, and customisable operating and capital cost sliders for hydrogen production.
For more information, please visit the Hydrogen page on the Geoscience Australia website.
Watch a video on HEFT (2:05 min)
All data produced by Geoscience Australia, including the data from this work, is publicly available from the Geoscience Australia's publication catalogue and the Exploring for the Future Data Discovery Portal after quality control and assurance has been performed.
General enquiries: 1800 800 173, clientservices@ga.gov.au
Australia's Future Energy Resources project investigated the national potential for new sediment-hosted energy resources, including oil, natural gas and hydrogen, that can support Australia's transition to net zero emissions by 2050.
The Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool (HEFT) is designed to support implementation of Australia's National Hydrogen Strategy. It helps investors identify regions suitable for hydrogen production in Australia.
The Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool (HEFT) is designed to support implementation of Australia's National Hydrogen Strategy. It helps investors identify regions suitable for hydrogen production in Australia. A promotional video about the HEFT (2:05 min)
