HYDROGEN AS FUEL

PM set to invest big in green hydrogen

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Original article by Sarah Ison, Rosie Lewis, Jess Malcolm
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 1-May-24

The federal government’s budget on 14 May is expected to include a significant investment in ‘green’ hydrogen. This is tipped to exceed the $2bn that Labor committed to its Hydrogen Headstart program in 2023. Clean Energy Council CEO Kane Thornton notes that the government considered that investment to be a "down payment" on its support for Australia’s nascent hydrogen industry. There is speculation that the government will provide the hydrogen industry with direct subsidies; the options under consideration are said to include a tax credit model and a reverse auction process.

CORPORATES
CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED

First strike at Fortescue over exec pay

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 22-Nov-23

More than 52 per cent of votes cast at Fortescue Metals Group’s annual meeting on Tuesday rejected the iron ore miner’s remuneration report. Fortescue could potentially face a board spill if more than 25 per cent of shareholders vote against the report again in 2024. Major proxy advisory firms had recommended voting against the report, citing concerns such as discretionary payments to several former executives. Meanwhile, Fortescue has announced plans to build a $US550m ‘green’ hydrogen plant in Arizona and a $US150m hydrogen plant at Gladstone in Queensland. It will also build a $US50m commercial ‘green’ iron plant at its Christmas Creek iron ore mine in the Pilbara.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Moody’s warns on Fortescue executive churn

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 20-Sep-23

Ratings agency Moody’s has reaffirmed its ‘Ba1’ credit rating for iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group. However, Moody’s has warned that the high level of turnover within Fortesue’s executive ranks in the last several years could adversely affect the company’s credit rating. The firm also notes that the high level of stock ownership by Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest increases governance risks, while it adds that looming final investment decisions on five clean energy projects may put further pressure on Fortescue’s balance sheet.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

BHP at odds with Andrew Forrest on role of hydrogen in clean energy future

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Original article by David Newell
The West Australian – Page: Online : 6-Jun-23

Lee Levkowitz says she sees hydrogen only playing a small role in the world’s clean energy future, albeit a potentially lucrative one, with Levkowitz being head of head of energy, carbon and technology research at BHP. Her sentiments are at odds with Andrew Forrest, who has effectively tied the future of his Fortescue Metals Group to the development of green hydrogen, although they are similar to those previously expressed by rival mining company Rio Tinto, with its chief scientist Nigel Steward having stated he does not see hydrogen as an "energy carrier".

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

FFI bids to develop hydrogen plant in South Australia

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Mar-23

Potential developers of a ‘green’ hydrogen hub in South Australia were given a deadline of Tuesday at 5pm to submit formal expressions of interest to the state government. Fortescue Future Industries is believed to have submitted a bid for the project, to which the state government will contribute $593m. A spokesman for FFI has declined to comment on whether Fortescue Metals Group’s clean energy arm lodged a bid. However, the spokesman says FFI believes that South Australia can become a leader in renewable energy production.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

BHP asks govt to narrow gap on Biden’s bill

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Mark Ludlow, Peter Ker, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 20 : 6-Mar-23

Allens partner Kate Axup says that Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has highlighted the need for the federal government to play a more active role in encouraging the development of an Australian hydrogen industry. BHP has used its pre-budget submission to urge Labor to adopt measures that will attract financing and boost local refining and manufacturing in the low-emissions technologies sector, while a spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen has labelled the IRA as a "game-changer for climate action and for clean energy supply chains, including hydrogen".

CORPORATES
ALLENS, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Disappointing year for hydrogen fuel investors

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 10-Jan-23

Bernstein Research claims that 2022 was a "disappointing year" for investors in hydrogen fuel and the broader clean energy sector, due to rising interest rates and supply chain problems. Bernstein Research did note that global demand for hydrogen grew by five per cent to 95 million tonnes a year in 2022, but that only 0.1 per cent was green hydrogen made from renewables. It noted strong policy support for green hydrogen in countries such as the US and China, while sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars were strong in China, but weak elsewhere.

CORPORATES
BERNSTEIN RESEARCH

Debelle steps down as Fortescue CFO in latest reshuffle

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 24-Nov-22

Fortescue Metals Group has appointed Felicity Gooding as the interim chief financial officer at its clean energy subsidiary, Fortescue Futures Industries. This follows Guy Debelle’s decision to step down as CFO; he took up the role in March following his retirement from the Reserve Bank of Australia, where he had been the deputy governor. Debelle is still recovering from injuries sustained in a bike accident in August, and says this means he cannot do justice to the role of CFO. He will instead join FFI’s board of directors.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

No time to lose in race to supply hydrogen

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Sep-22

McKinsey’s global head of hydrogen Bernd Heid says Australia has the potential to become a major exporter of hydrogen, although he says it has "no time to lose" if it wants to achieve this potential. His comments came as French company Engie become the first firm in Australia to commit to the construction of an ‘industrial-scale’ greeh hydrogen project, while McKinsey is forecasting that hydrogen in all its forms will meet around 22 per cent of global energy demand by 2050, with hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in sectors such as steel and fertilisers.

CORPORATES
McKINSEY AND COMPANY

No time to lose in race to supply hydrogen

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Sep-22

McKinsey’s global head of hydrogen Bernd Heid says Australia has the potential to become a major exporter of hydrogen, although he says it has "no time to lose" if it wants to achieve this potential. His comments came as French company Engie become the first firm in Australia to commit to the construction of an ‘industrial-scale’ greeh hydrogen project, while McKinsey is forecasting that hydrogen in all its forms will meet around 22 per cent of global energy demand by 2050, with hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in sectors such as steel and fertilisers.

CORPORATES
McKINSEY AND COMPANY