Gladstone energy customers will soon be among the first in Australia to be supplied with a renewable gas blend in a project welcomed by Energy Networks Australia.

The Queensland Government and Australian Gas Networks (AGN) announced the project today as part of the establishment of a $4.2 million hydrogen plant.

Energy Networks Australia CEO, Andrew Dillon, said the expansion of AGN’s national hydrogen push into Queensland was a key step in making Gladstone a domestic and export hub for hydrogen.

“Establishing a strong, domestic hydrogen industry is the first step to developing Australia’s hydrogen export industry,” Mr Dillon said.

“AGN is helping to deliver not only more sustainable energy but an entirely new market for clean energy jobs in Australia.

“Hydrogen offers flexible storage of renewable energy that can then be used for cooking, heating and transport. It is playing an important role as our energy system transitions and we adopt new technologies such as renewable generation to reduce emissions.”

Today’s announcement follows the Commonwealth Government’s commitment last week for $1.28 million for AGN to establish the Australian Hydrogen Centre (AHC) in South Australia.

Recently published research by Energy Networks Australia and the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association showed that more than $180 million of funding had been committed nationwide for hydrogen infrastructure projects.

There is a global focus on hydrogen as the way forward with 19 separate hydrogen roadmaps underway or completed around the world, including Australia.