Origin has warned that it will be abandoning its hydrogen ventures as it's too expensive to continue pursuing.
👉 Background: Origin Energy is the electricity and gas provider for over 4.5 million Australian customers. In 2022, Origin announced plans for a potential hydrogen project, which if successful, would start to produce renewable hydrogen energy by 2026.
👉 What happened: Origin has warned that it will be abandoning its hydrogen ventures as it's too expensive to continue pursuing.
👉 What else: This is a blow to the federal government too, who were hoping Origin would champion the transition to renewable power. Despite all the government subsidies and incentives for hydrogen producers, Origin still couldn't be convinced to build the facility.
💡Unlocking innovative technology is one thing, but making it commercially viable is another.
💡Hydrogen is considered to be a solution to decarbonisation and a transition to renewable energy. There aren't any direct Co2 emissions, and it's plentiful. However, it's costing a pretty penny to get hydrogen to be scalable.
💡Origin isn’t the only energy company to pull the pin. Fortescue’s green hydrogen initiative has lost over $2 billion, with nothing to show for it, leading them to pull the pin too. So while new climate technology sounds exciting - shareholders are only willing to wait so long to see results.
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