C4G welcome Japanese Government $2.3 billion investment

The Committee for Gippsland has welcomed the Japanese government's announcement to commit $2.35 billion to progress Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project, which last year delivered a world-first cargo of liquefied hydrogen to Japan on a purpose-built ship via the Port of Hastings.

The Committee for Gippsland (C4G) CEO Tony Cantwell said he was pleased to see a strong investment for the project to progress.

“The HESC project is a critical part of Gippsland’s transition to a low carbon economy, as outlined in our Gippsland’s Clean Energy Future: Through investment and growth prospectus launched last year,” Tony Cantwell said.

“The project is a world leader in demonstrating the end-to-end liquified supply chain for clean hydrogen developed in Gippsland.”

The joint venture between J-Power and the Sumitomo Corporation, plan to use carbon capture and storage (CCS) to trap emissions produced during hydrogen production and store them underground in the depleted oil and gas reservoirs of Bass Strait.

The Japanese government’s Green Innovation Fund will go to the project through one of its partners, Japan Suiso Energy, that will own and operate a liquefaction and shipping facility at the Port of Hastings.

The project is anticipated to supply 40,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen a year and could support 1000 jobs a year in the Latrobe Valley and many more across the hydrogen supply chain.

Last year the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain project delivered a world-first cargo of liquefied hydrogen to Japan on a purpose-built ship from the Port of Hastings.