Securing water for an emerging Australian hydrogen industry

underway

The hydrogen industry is rapidly expanding. Like other resource development activities, water extraction and infrastructure needed for hydrogen development require assessment of potential environmental impacts. This project will develop a rapid, nationally consistent approach for understanding water resources and wastewater management requirements needed to support sustainable hydrogen development. The project will then test this methodology on 3 regions across Australia that encompass different physical characteristics, geography and jurisdictions to provide a robust test of the hydrogen resource availability methodology. Once water availability in areas projected to be regional hubs for hydrogen production have been investigated, the project will conceptualise the potential impacts of future hydrogen development on existing environmental, cultural, urban and industrial water users. CSIRO will develop a methodology to test hydrogen water resource availability mapping. They will test this methodology on 3 case studies in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. The analysis includes: This project will contribute to a fundamental understanding of the available water and wastewater needed to support sustainable hydrogen development by: The CSIRO will undertake a detailed technical assessment of: CSIRO will expand on the recent communication and engagement they have undertaken with stakeholders who live and work in the case study regions.