Stanwell Corporation has discontinued its involvement in the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project (CQ-H2).
The State Government-owned Stanwell this week announced it would discontinue the $12.5 billion project and other hydrogen development activities amid exiting partners and soaring costs.
“The CQ-H2 project has been a valuable international collaboration that has provided important technical and commercial knowledge to support the future large-scale commercialisation of renewable hydrogen,” Stanwell said in an official statement.
It follows the exodus of Japanese companies Iwatani and Kansai Electric Power, both who pulled out of the consortium after production overheads went much higher than initially projected in the feasibility study.
Back in February the Queensland Government announced it would discontinue support of the project when it rejected a funding request reportedly asking for over $1 billion.
To date CQ-H2 has received $20 million from Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and $15 million from the state.
It’s the latest blow to the hydrogen sector in Australia following Fortescue’s decision to withdraw from its proposed electrolyser project in Gladstone in May.
The facility was to be the first stage of a wider Green Energy Manufacturing Centre developed by Fortescue on the 100-hectare site located on the Aldoga Industrial Estate in the Gladstone State Development Area.
At the time CQ-H2 was first announced back in May, 2023, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said the project had the potential to lead the way in exporting renewable hydrogen to international markets.
“Japan, Korea and China are three of our largest trading partners and have all made clear commitments to increase the use of hydrogen, with a focus on establishing international supply chains for imports,” he said at the time.
