Australian hydrogen standards committee established

Standards Australia has constituted a new Technical Committee ME-093 Hydrogen Technologies with responsibilities for standards development. The committee will undertake work as the mirror committee to ISO/TC197 ‘Hydrogen Technologies’.

The ME-093 Hydrogen Technologies Committee will help ensure that the option to transition to a low-carbon economy by the utilisation of hydrogen can be achieved safely and that the economic, environmental and social benefits of the new industry are fully realised.

The CEO of National Energy Resources Australia (NERA), Miranda Taylor, said Australia is well placed to capitalise on the expected growth of the global hydrogen economy.

“As a trusted and quality supplier of energy to world markets, and with significant energy capability, infrastructure and resources, hydrogen represents a huge opportunity for Australia’s energy resources sector,” she said.

“We are uniquely positioned to build on Australia’s existing LNG knowledge, technological capabilities and infrastructure to support hydrogen exports (blue and green hydrogen) to ensure that Australia is a major player in a global hydrogen industry by 2030, including emerging opportunities to be a supplier to markets in Asia.”

Australian state and territory governments have agreed that hydrogen presents an opportunity for Australia to lead in the emerging global market for low- and zero-emissions energy, which, in 2019, will be realised through the development of a National Hydrogen Strategy by the Council for Australian Governments (COAG).

The COAG Energy Council established the Hydrogen Working Group last year to develop the national strategy, and working groups are continually being established to review published and draft ISO standards with an objective of understanding next steps for each standard. NERA has attended some of the consultative roundtables to help shape the national strategy, due to be completed by the end of 2019.

The Committee met for the first time in April to facilitate the implementation of Australian standards for hydrogen to support both domestic and export value chains. The meeting included a briefing on the National Hydrogen Strategy Taskforce progress by a representative of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.

The ME-093 committee members represent a wide range of industry organisations and are well placed to evaluate ISO standards for direct adoption and recommend fit-for-purpose modifications where necessary for Australian application.

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