ARENA funds renewable hydrogen project for Sydney grid

It injected $5.32m into gas distributor Jemena for the construction of an electrolyser.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will inject $7.5m into the construction of a 500kW ‘power-to-gas’ electrolyser for western Sydney by New South Wales (NSW) distributor Jemena.

According to an announcement, the electrolyser will inject renewable hydrogen into Sydney's natural gas grid. The hydrogen is expected to be emission-free and release only water vapour during use.

The trial for the technology, called Project H2GO, is worth $10.64m. ARENA said the technology could replace natural gas with carbon-free hydrogen which is generated by soaking up surplus electricity from wind and solar.

As part of the trial, a portion of hydrogen produced will be diverted to a gas engine generator to generate electricity generation to be exported back into the grid, with the remaining stored for use in an on-site refuelling station for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

ARENA recently awarded A$22m to 16 research teams at nine institutions to advance Australia’s potential hydrogen export industry.

Project H2GO builds on a trial ARENA has funded in Western Australia with gas distributor ATCO. Creating a green hydrogen microgrid on their Jandakot site, ATCO will test the use of hydrogen on household appliances in a mock home.