WA Premier Roger Cook bets big on hydrogen and green steel to solve Asia’s carbon problem
Roger Cook is predicting enormous job opportunity for WA as he bets big on “evolving” technology to solve Asia’s carbon problem and keep the State’s resources industry booming.
The WA Premier is wrapping up a week-long visit to China and Japan, where he backed hydrogen and carbon storage as crucial steps towards net zero.
He said,
In Japan, they’re already moving into the future by incorporating (hydrogen) into their existing infrastructure and products, and are really charging ahead with it as a renewable energy fuel into the future,
“It really underscores, for me, just how important a role Western Australia will play to assist the Japanese economy to decarbonise, obviously through renewable energy, but also through carbon capture and storage.We’re going to need every tool at our disposal. Now that means LNG will still play a key role to help countries transition out of coal.Carbon capture and storage will be an important part of offsetting hard to abate industries and, as technologies start to evolve, ultimately, we know that clean energy is going to play such a crucial role into the future.”
Several hydrogen projects have stalled in Australia, with BP recently backing out of a $54 billion project in the Pilbara.
But Mr Cook said a memorandum of understanding inked between Woodside, Japan Suiso Energy and The Kansai Electric Power Co., for a liquid hydrogen supply chain, is proof the experiment is not done yet.
He said,
What that shows is that there’s a great deal of confidence in the role that hydrogen will play into the future,
“And I’m really excited to see that (H2Perth) project making progress.”
Mr Cook spoke to The West Australian after touring a shipyard where Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is developing hydrogen-based fuel cells.
The company was recently awarded a $10 billion contract to build Australia’s new fleet of warships.
The first three Mogami-class frigates will be built in Japan, with a further eight set to be built locally in Henderson.
Mr Cook said,
Strategic security plays an important role as part of the alliance between Australia and Japan,
“We continue to reassure them that Western Australia wants to play a key role as part of all those needs, energy security, food security and strategic security.”
Tourism, more direct flights, and agriculture were also on the agenda at the World Expo in Osaka while, in China, there was no mention of AUKUS by either side.
Instead, green steel dominated the Premier’s talks with Chinese industry.
Mr Cook described his three-day itinerary in Shanghai as “intense” but “really worthwhile”.
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WA Premier Roger Cook bets big on hydrogen and green steel to solve Asia’s carbon problem, source
