This short film promotes Geoscience Australia's online and publicly accessible hydrogen data products. The film steps through the functionality of GA's Australian Hydrogen Opportunities Tool (AusH2), and describes the upcoming Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool which has been created through a collaborative effort with Monash University.

Underground halite, or salt, deposits can potentially be used for large scale storage of hydrogen. This dataset maps the spatial distribution of known, thick underground halite deposits across Australia. Halite sequences included in this map are at least 100 metres thick (to ensure sufficient storage capacity) and are located onshore. Known, thick halite deposits are located in the Carnarvon, Amadeus and Adavale basins. Underground halite deposits have not been extensively explored for across Australia and additional halite deposits suitable for large scale hydrogen storage may exist. Geoscience Australia, through the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, is therefore exploring for underground halite deposits to further our understanding of sub-surface halite distribution for potential hydrogen storage. This map may be updated periodically to reflect new halite discoveries found during the EFTF program. This dataset is published with the permission of the CEO, Geoscience Australia.

From the beginning of petroleum exploration in the Perth Basin, the importance of the Early Triassic marine Kockatea Shale was recognised as the principal source for liquid petroleum in the onshore northern Perth Basin (Powell and McKirdy, 1976). Thomas and Barber (2004) constrained the effective source rock to a Early Triassic, middle Sapropelic Interval in the Hovea Member of the lower Kockatea Shale. In addition, Jurassic and Permian sourced-oils (Summons et al., 1995) demonstrate local effective non-Kockatea source rocks. However, evidence for multiple effective gas source rocks is limited. This study utilizes the molecular composition and carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of 34 natural gases from the Perth Basin, extending the previous study (Boreham et al., 2001) to the offshore and includes hydrogen isotopes and gases. It shows the existence of Jurassic to Permain gas systems in the Perth Basin.

There is significant interest in Australia, both federally and at the state level, to develop a hydrogen production industry. Australia’s Chief Scientist, Alan Finkel, recently prepared a briefing paper for the COAG Energy Council outlining a road map for hydrogen. It identifies hydrogen has the potential to be a significant source of export revenue for Australia in future years, assist with decarbonising Australia’s economy and could establish Australia as a leader in low emission fuel production. As part of the ongoing investigations into the hydrogen production potential of Australia, Geoscience Australia has been commissioned by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science to develop heat maps that show areas with high potential for future hydrogen production. The study is technology agnostic, in that it considers hydrogen production via electrolysis using renewable energy sources and also fossil fuel hydrogen coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The heat maps presented in this work are synthesized from the key individual national-scale datasets that are relevant for hydrogen production. In the case of hydrogen from electrolysis, renewable energy potential and the availability of water are the most important factors, with various infrastructural considerations playing a secondary role. In the case of fossil fuel hydrogen, proximity to gas and coal resources, water and availability of carbon storage sites are the important parameters that control the heat maps. In this report we present 5 different heat map scenarios, reflecting different assumptions in the geospatial analysis and also reflecting to some degree the different projected timeframes for hydrogen production. The first three scenarios pertain to renewable energy and hydrogen produced by electrolysis. Differences between the three scenarios depend on whether hydrogen is produced near the coastal areas, where infrastructure and water are not issues or whether hydrogen can be produced in inland areas provided water does become a constraining factor. Assumptions regarding the proximity of a currently connected electrical grid to transport renewable energy also play a large role in the different scenarios. The final two scenarios focus on the potential for fossil fuel hydrogen, coupled with CCS, with the difference between the two scenarios being related to the timeframes for readiness for both fossil fuel production and availability of CO2 storage resources.

This web map service provides visualisations of datasets used as inputs into the analysis of prospective hydrogen production regions of Australia. The service has been developed using datasets sourced from the Department of Environment and Energy, PSMA Australia, Garrad Hassan Pacific Pty. Ltd., Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Department of Resources Energy and Tourism, Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and Geoscience Australia

This web map service provides visualisations of datasets used as inputs into the analysis of prospective hydrogen production regions of Australia. The service has been developed using datasets sourced from the Department of Environment and Energy, PSMA Australia, Garrad Hassan Pacific Pty. Ltd., Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Department of Resources Energy and Tourism, Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and Geoscience Australia

Hydrogen can be used for a variety of domestic and industrial purposes such as heating and cooking (as a replacement for natural gas), transportation (replacing petrol and diesel), and energy storage (by converting intermittent renewable energy into hydrogen). The key benefit of using hydrogen is that it is a clean fuel that emits only water vapour and heat when combusted. To support implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy, Geoscience Australia in collaboration with Monash University are releasing the Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool (HEFT). HEFT is a free online tool designed to support decision making by policymakers and investors on the location of new infrastructure and development of hydrogen hubs in Australia. It considers both hydrogen produced from renewable energy and from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage. Tune in to this seminar to discover HEFT’s capabilities, its potential to attract worldwide investment into Australia’s hydrogen industry, and what’s up next for hydrogen at Geoscience Australia.

The Exploring for the Future program Showcase 2024 was held on 13-16 August 2024. Day 3 - 15th August talks included: <b>Session 1 – Hydrogen opportunities across Australia</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/pA9ft3-7BtU?si=V0-ccAmHHIYJIZAo">Hydrogen storage opportunities and the role of depleted gas fields</a> - Dr Eric Tenthorey <a href="https://youtu.be/MJFhP57nnd0?si=ECO7OFTCak78Gn1M">The Green Steel Economic Fairways Mapper</a> - Dr Marcus Haynes <a href="https://youtu.be/M95FOQMRC7o?si=FyP7CuDEL0HEdzPw">Natural hydrogen: The Australian context</a> - Chris Boreham <b>Session 2 – Sedimentary basin resource potential – source rocks, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and groundwater</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/44qPlV7h3os?si=wfQqxQ81Obhc_ThE">Australian Source Rock and Fluid Atlas - Accessible visions built on historical data archives</a> - Dr Dianne Edwards <a href="https://youtu.be/WcJdSzsADV8?si=aH5aYbpnjaz3Qwj9">CO2: Where can we put it and how much will it cost?</a> - Claire Patterson <a href="https://youtu.be/Y8sA-iR86c8?si=CUsERoEkNDvIwMtc">National aquifer framework: Putting the geology into hydrogeology</a> - Dr Nadege Rollet <b>Session 3 – Towards a national inventory of resource potential and sustainable development</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/K5xGpwaIWgg?si=2s0AKuNpu30sV1Pu">Towards a national inventory of mineral potential</a> - Dr Arianne Ford <a href="https://youtu.be/XKmEXwQzbZ0?si=yAMQMjsNCGkAQUMh">Towards an inventory of mine waste potential</a> - Dr Anita Parbhakar-Fox <a href="https://youtu.be/0AleUvr2F78?si=zS4xEsUYtARywB1j">ESG mapping of the Australian mining sector: A critical review of spatial datasets for decision making</a> - Dr Eleonore Lebre View or download the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/149800">Exploring for the Future - An overview of Australia’s transformational geoscience program</a> publication. View or download the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/149743">Exploring for the Future - Australia's transformational geoscience program</a> publication. You can access full session and Q&A recordings from YouTube here: 2024 Showcase Day 3 - Session 1 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho6QFMIleuE">Hydrogen opportunities across Australia</a> 2024 Showcase Day 3 - Session 2 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePZfgEwo0m4">Sedimentary basin resource potential – source rocks, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and groundwater</a> 2024 Showcase Day 3 - Session 3 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjsZVK4h6Dk">Towards a national inventory of resource potential and sustainable development</a>

This web map service provides visualisations of the outputs from the five scenarios assessed in the analysis of prospective hydrogen production regions of Australia. Datasets used as inputs into the hydrogen production prospectivity analysis have been sourced from the Department of Environment and Energy, PSMA Australia, Garrad Hassan Pacific Pty. Ltd., Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Department of Resources Energy and Tourism, Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, and Geoscience Australia.

The Source Rock and Fluids Atlas delivery and publication services provide up-to-date information on petroleum (organic) geochemical and geological data from Geoscience Australia's Organic Geochemistry Database (ORGCHEM). The sample data provides the spatial distribution of petroleum source rocks and their derived fluids (natural gas and crude oil) from boreholes and field sites in onshore and offshore Australian basins. The services provide characterisation of source rocks through the visualisation of Pyrolysis, Organic Petrology (Maceral Groups, Maceral Reflectance) and Organoclast Maturity data. The services also provide molecular and isotopic characterisation of source rocks and petroleum through the visualisation of Bulk, Whole Oil GC, Gas, Compound-Specific Isotopic Analyses (CSIA) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) data tables. Interpretation of these data enables the characterisation of petroleum source rocks and identification of their derived petroleum fluids that comprise two key elements of petroleum systems analysis. The composition of petroleum determines whether or not it can be an economic commodity and if other processes (e.g. CO2 removal and sequestration; cryogenic liquefaction of LNG) are required for development.