According to The Australian Financial Review, Australian LNG exports have broken fresh records in volumes and value amid super-keen demand for non-Russian gas, with Japan overtaking lockdown-hit China to regain the No.1 ranking as the biggest customer.
Shipments were the highest in June on a monthly basis, and exports also hit a record for the 2022 financial year, reaching 82.6 million tonnes, according to consultancy EnergyQuest.
It estimated export revenue for the year at $70.18 billion, easily more than double the $30.48 billion recorded in FY 2021.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/lng-exports-hit-70b-record-despite-china-slide-20220714-p5b1om

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Queensland will install renewable energy components at coal-fired power plants, but the state government is ambiguous about plans for using fossil fuel electricity generation.
Energy Minister Mick de Brenni said adding battery storage and hydrogen production facilities to power plant sites would be in the government’s 10-year energy plan, due to be released this year.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/qld-to-install-batteries-at-coal-plants-20220713-p5b1dp

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia will need 1.2 million more workers within four years, including more than 98,600 technology specialists, 20,400 solicitors and 7700 auditors, ramping up pressure on employers to offer bigger salaries and more promotions.
The jobless rate this week dropped to 3.5 per cent, a low not reached in Australia since 1976. Detailed projections by the federal government’s skills forecaster, the National Skills Commission, indicate the workforce will expand by more than 9 per cent by the end of 2026.

https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/australia-needs-an-extra-1-2-million-workers-in-the-next-four-years-20220714-p5b1qp
 

According to The Energy Magazine, a comprehensive collection of Australia’s hydrogen research and industry work is now available for viewing at CSIRO’s virtual Hydrogen Knowledge Centre.
CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, opened the Hydrogen Knowledge Centre as part of its Hydrogen Industry Mission. It has been designed to foster collaboration between the growing Australian hydrogen industry, government and research and development (R&D) ecosystems, by providing regularly updated information on policies, projects, research and resources.

https://www.energymagazine.com.au/hydrogen-knowledge-centre-now-online/

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, the portfolio shuffling at Mitsui & Co has sprouted more buying, with the company increasing its minority shareholding in privately-held Australian positioning and site automation business Position Partners to a controlling stake.
The Japanese investment house first invested in Position Partners in 2019, and said it upped its position after strong business performance.
Position Partners was founded in 2008 and distributes and supports positioning solutions for geospatial, construction and mining projects.

https://www.afr.com/street-talk/mitsui-takes-controlling-stake-in-position-partners-20220630-p5axy4

 

​According to The Australian Financial Review, QIC’s remote power generation business Pacific Energy has followed through on ambitions to round out its portfolio to include hydrogen by acquiring a provider of a hydrogen refuelling and production systems, a move that also supports its east coast expansion strategy.
With the purchase of Victoria-based ENGV, Pacific Energy will also lock in an exclusive regional supply deal for electrolysers – used in the production of green hydrogen – with the world’s biggest maker of the systems, Norway’s Nel ASA.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/qic-s-pacific-energy-adds-hydrogen-to-kitbag-20220704-p5aytm

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia’s energy transition will happen even faster than already envisaged if strong global action to limit emissions spurs significant technological breakthroughs in developing hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel source earlier than anticipated.
Australian Energy Market Operator said the “hydrogen superpower” scenario would be triggered by technological breakthroughs that enable a kilogram of hydrogen to be produced for under $2 – a milestone that many believe could be up to a decade away despite huge investment and government support.
The two most important components of producing hydrogen are electrolysers and the cost of energy, though a rapid increase in zero-emission energy generation could reduce wholesale prices.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/energy-transition-would-be-hastened-by-hydrogen-breakthroughs-20220630-p5ay29

 

According to The Guardian, a Queensland airline has announced plans for what it claims will be Australia’s first hydrogen-electric aircraft.
The airline, Skytrans, which operates out of Cairns and flies to Cape York and the Torres Strait, says the first plane will be in the air by 2026.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/30/queensland-airline-skytrans-unveils-plans-for-australias-first-hydrogen-fuelled-plane

 

According to The Australian Financial Review, Japanese trading giant Marubeni has joined the South Australian LNG import project planned by private firm Venice Energy, little more than 18 months after abandoning Andrew Forrest’s similar project at Port Kembla, NSW.
The proposed joint venture partnership between Marubeni and Venice paved the way for construction to start before the end of the year, said Venice managing director Kym Winter-Dewhirst, who is targeting the start-up of imports in time for winter 2024.

https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/marubeni-backs-sa-lng-instead-of-twiggy-project-20220701-p5ay9q

According to The PV magazine, both New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland handed down their 2022-23 state budgets on Tuesday pushing the line that clean energy investments would lead the states to future prosperity.
The NSW government has allocated $1.2 billion to fast-track priority transmission and energy storage projects, an announcement it made earlier this month.
In total, the QLD government said its 2022-23 budget delivers more than $2 billion for large-scale storage, renewable energy projects and generation and transmission investment, though this total seems to build on previous pledges and schemes.

https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2022/06/22/nsw-queensland-budgets-handed-down-both-link-clean-energy-investments-to-prosperity/