Queensland legislates for hydrogen injection into gas pipelines

The Gas Supply and Other Legislation (Hydrogen Industry Development) Amendment Bill 2023 (Qld) (the Legislation) was passed by Queensland Parliament on 10 October 2023.  The Legislation will commence on a day to be fixed by proclamation. As part of a regulatory review to support the regulation of renewable hydrogen development and use in Queensland, the … Read more

Head start or head wind: will the ‘Hydrogen Headstart’ Program be the promised springboard for the Australian hydrogen industry?

In its recent annual budget, the Federal Government announced the $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart Program to catalyse Australia’s green hydrogen industry and position Australia as a global leader in hydrogen production and export. On 7 July 2023, the Consultation Paper was released. In this article we explore key aspects of this initiative and its challenges. … Read more

How will hydrogen disputes be resolved?

With a rapidly-emerging energy market set to fuel a rise in disputes, we explore how arbitration could offer the solution A global transformation of the energy sector is underway. Markets appear to now accept that deployment of hydrogen at scale could be the next major energy source from around 2030. For that daunting goal to … Read more

Patents in hydrogen on the up – a prediction of things to come?

Governments and companies alike are striving towards a net-zero emissions future and implementing new technologies to help them get there. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising technology in the path to the clean energy transition, leading governments to recently announce ambitious hydrogen targets and projects. Read more

Africa’s competitive edge as a clean hydrogen hub

The following article by Nina Bowyer, a partner based in our Paris office and the co-Head of the firm’s Africa Practice Group, and Barbara McNulty, an associate based in our London office, was first published by Africa Oil Week (AOW) ahead of AOW 2022, taking place in Cape Town in October 2022. Herbert Smith Freehills … Read more

UK Energy Security Bill introduced amid political turmoil has wide-ranging implications for the energy sector

On 6 July 2022, a day of significant political uncertainty, the Government published its long-awaited Energy Security Bill. Notwithstanding the current political turmoil, this is expected to survive to become the most wide-ranging legislative reform of the UK’s energy market for several years. The Energy Security Bill (Bill) was published and introduced to Parliament for … Read more

EGYPT – A GREENER FUTURE WITH HYDROGEN

Egypt has recently announced a partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the development of a hydrogen strategy as part of the government’s ambitious energy transition plans. It was reported that Egypt would allocate $40 billion to fund the implementation of the strategy, with the aim of achieving a production capacity … Read more

Hydrogen and Africa

As part of the energy transition, clean hydrogen has emerged as a critical tool in decarbonising our economies. In this article, we discuss the hype around hydrogen, provide a quick recap of hydrogen technology and explore reasons why the African continent is well placed to leverage the opportunities that the push for clean hydrogen will … Read more