Australia's top scientist calls for hydrogen revolution to replace fossil fuels
Exclusive to the Sydney Morning Herald | October 10, 2018 by Nicole Hasham

The federal government’s top scientist Alan Finkel says Australia could slash global carbon emissions and create a multi-billion dollar export industry by developing hydrogen as an everyday energy source to replace fossil fuels used in vehicles, homes and industry.

A major climate report on Monday identified hydrogen, which can be produced with virtually no emissions, as among fuel options that must be developed if the planet is stay below the critical 1.5 degrees warming threshold and avoid the worst climate change disasters.

The report by the UN’s climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, called for a coal phase-out by 2050 and predicted a substantial decline in the use of natural gas – two export industries upon which Australia is heavily reliant.

The report distilled 6000 scientific references and was authored by 91 scientists across 40 countries...

...In an exclusive opinion piece for Fairfax Media on Wednesday, Dr Finkel outlined a recent fact-finding trip to Japan which he said has “declared its intention to be the world’s first nation to use hydrogen as a mainstream fuel”. Japan presently imports 94 per cent of its energy as fossil fuels...snip

...Japan, South Korea and other nations plan to increase the use of hydrogen, creating big export opportunities for Australia. However Brunei, Norway and Saudi Arabia are all racing to claim a share of the market.

In a separate interview, Dr Finkel told Fairfax Media that developing a clean hydrogen export business would “contribute very significantly to the global endeavour” to lower emissions.

“We would be helping Japan, Korea and other countries make their contribution ... from a global point of view it’s very significant,” he said.

Hydrogen would be used as an alternative to fossil fuels in cars, trucks, trains and ships, for electricity storage and generation as well as home and industrial uses, he said.

A massive hydrogen export business would provide low-cost clean fuel to Australian consumers. Hydrogen can be added to existing natural gas supplies and Energy Networks Australia says over time, gas networks could deliver 100 per cent hydrogen to replace natural gas... more: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fede...09-p508mj.html