Giles Electorate

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (15:26): I rise today to talk about two related things: one is Liberty Steel and the other is the potential for renewable-based hydrogen production here in South Australia. During the lunch period I was looking at my emails and a new email popped up from Liberty Steel, making an announcement that was potentially a visionary announcement. With any company, I take things a step at a time, but it is good to see a company like Liberty Steel, part of the GFG Group, express a really strong vision for the future.

The heading of the email was 'Liberty Steel plants to merge into one global group, setting sights on carbon-neutral operations by 2030'. There were a number of dot points:

A single global company—Liberty Steel Group—to be created, consolidating GFG Alliance's steel business into one legal entity

That is an interesting move. The second point was:

GREENSTEEL strategies to be at the heart of the combined group, including exploration of new environmentally friendly technology such as hydrogen based steel making

Or maybe, more accurately, iron production. Another point was:

Liberty Steel Group aims to be the world's first carbon neutral steel company by 2030

I was recently on Southern Cross TV in my electorate talking about Whyalla and the potential for renewable-based hydrogen production. I was not doing it in a parochial sense. I actually seriously believe, when you look at comparative advantages around this state, that Whyalla is probably the best equipped community and environ in the state when it comes to looking at hydrogen production using renewables.

I say that for a number of reasons. I notice Cape Hardy keeps hitting the press. Well, there is absolutely nothing down at Cape Hardy when it comes to, for instance, the export of hydrogen or the export of ammonia as a carrier for hydrogen to international markets. When you look at Whyalla, you already have a major hydrocarbon export facility at Port Bonython and you already have a jetty that is able to service mini Capes and the vessels that currently service the hydrocarbon industry.

If you were looking at an export facility in this state, you would pick a community that already had heavy industry, already had an industrial infrastructure, already had national grid connections and two major substations, already had export facilities and already had rail so that you did not have to start from the beginning. I had a chat to Santos, and they are not endorsing any of this. A question is: in terms of the jetty that is currently in place, which is actually a state jetty that $30-odd million has recently been invested in, would we have the capacity to export, for instance, ammonia as a carrier for hydrogen from that jetty? The answer is, yes, we would be able to do that.

The other interesting element about Whyalla is not just its capacity for export. It is also the potential customer in the form of a steelworks. Hydrogen can be used in a number of different ways in the steel industry, on the steel side of things, in a more ancillary fashion. However, one of the holy grails of the steel industry nationally is to produce iron without having to use coking coal. The steel industry contributes around 2.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year to the global atmosphere. There is a range of companies now that are incredibly serious about looking at reducing that impact.

It can be done through electric arc furnaces, which can be renewable energy driven, with appropriate storage such as pumped hydro. However, if you are going to move to using that virgin material, using iron ore in a blast furnace without coking coal, hydrogen is an ideal reducing agent. It is a long-term vision, and the Swedes are already moving in that direction. They already have a pilot plant up and running, and they are talking about full commercial production by 2035. It is a direction this state should be going in.

The Hon. S.S. Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Is the Premier interjecting out of his seat? I hope not. The member for Waite.