House of Assembly: Thursday, May 18, 2023

Contents

Liquified Hydrogen Storage

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:15): My question is to the Premier. Has the government broken its commitment to liquefied hydrogen storage and, if so, why? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr PATTERSON: Before the election, Labor promised that its hydrogen power plant would provide 3,600 tonnes of liquefied hydrogen storage, but there's no mention of this in the government's latest tender documents.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:15): The government, as any reasonable government would do, is going to the marketplace to make sure we find the best technological solution to the facility that we are building. Technology evolves. That is something I would have thought the shadow minister for innovation and industry would have a degree of consciousness of: technology evolves.

We are building this electrolyser and power plant to be operational by the end of 2025. We have gone out to the marketplace and asked them to provide feedback to us about what technologies are available, as they stand today, that would best realise the government's ambitions of having the world's largest hydrogen electrolyser and a power plant with storage in between. We will wait and see what the market's response is and make a decision that best accords with setting up the state with a clear focus on the future of this industry.