The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced AU$15 million in funding for Hadean Energy to build and operate a pilot plant in Victoria aimed at testing a locally developed green hydrogen technology in industrial steel manufacturing.
The AU$30 million project will provide a real-world trial of Hadean Energy’s technology to determine whether it can effectively lower production costs and support decarbonisation across heavy manufacturing.
Green hydrogen is widely considered vital for cutting emissions in hard-to-abate sectors such as steelmaking and aviation, yet commercial adoption has been constrained by steep production costs.
Hadean Energy estimates its system can produce hydrogen using roughly 30 per cent less electricity than standard electrolysers.
Subject to final deployment approvals, the Victorian facility is expected to produce up to seven kilograms of hydrogen per hour, meeting approximately 85 per cent of the hydrogen required for an industrial steel annealing process.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said reducing power consumption is essential to making green hydrogen economically viable for heavy industry.
“Green hydrogen has significant potential to reduce emissions from industries that are difficult to electrify, but the cost of production remains a major barrier,” Miller said.
“This pilot will demonstrate how Hadean’s technology performs in a real-world industrial environment and provide the evidence needed to assess its commercial potential.”
Miller added that a successful trial could accelerate the broader adoption of low-emissions hydrogen in steelworks while expanding local industrial capabilities.
Originally developed over eight years by CSIRO with initial ARENA support, the technology is now moving towards commercial readiness.
In addition to green steel production, the technology holds future potential for manufacturing synthetic fuels to help reduce emissions in sectors heavily reliant on energy-dense liquid fuels.
