QUEENSLAND has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands to collaborate on opportunities to develop a hydrogen export supply chain.

Minister for energy, renewables and hydrogen Mick de Brenni said  the Port of Rotterdam has a target to import up to 20 million tonnes of hydrogen by 2050, starting with imports of ammonia in 2025.

“Given the recent impacts of world events on energy security and their sky-rocketing effect on power prices, this has perhaps never been more important,” he said.

Addressing the World Hydrogen Summit by video, Mr de Brenni said Queensland is a well-credentialed investment partner for hydrogen and renewable energy.

“Queensland has the clean, green, reliable, affordable and sensible energy solutions you seek,” Mr de Brenni said.

“We are tapping our abundance of sunshine, wind and water, our new economy minerals and our skilled workforce to power our energy evolution.”

Mr de Brenni outlined the steps Queensland has taken to develop large-scale manufacturing that supports a resilient and sustainable renewable energy supply chain.

“Our $2-billion Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund empowers Queensland’s interconnected and publicly owned energy corporations to partner with private sector projects and help satiate an increasingly hungry world hydrogen market,” he said.

“We also have three Queensland Renewable Energy Zones that allow us to coordinate our vast supply of renewable energy and open doors to rapidly develop our green hydrogen hubs.

Mr de Brenni said Queensland would continue setting global benchmarks for hydrogen as a new clean fuel that will power more jobs in more industries.

“In the coming months, Queensland will further demonstrate global energy leadership when our 10-year Energy Plan is released,” he said.

“This Energy Plan will reinforce the fact that Queensland offers the certainty to make long-term investment decisions, and that we are ‘fair dinkum’ about delivering regulatory certainty, infrastructure certainty and political certainty.

“We have well-developed ports, an established industrial seaboard infrastructure, mature scientific research and manufacturing capabilities.”