Green Hydrogen Organisation: Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest enlists former PM Malcolm Turnbull for clean fuel lobby

WA iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest and former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will spearhead a new global body to promote greater use of hydrogen produced from renewable sources, targeting a 25 per cent slice of the world energy market by 2050. The Green Hydrogen Organisation, to be known as GH2, was unveiled in New York overnight to coincide with climate and energy discussions between world leaders at the United Nations. The group will seek to engage with governments to establish energy policies that stimulate demand and markets for the fuel, it said. “Green hydrogen is the key to rapidly decarbonising stubborn but massive processes like materials, trucking, and shipping, where we rely so heavily on dirty fuels,” Mr Forrest, chairman and founder of Fortescue Metals Group and founding member of the GH2 Board, said. “Green hydrogen is the sleeping giant of the energy transition and I believe it will have a bigger impact on tackling climate change than any other technology. “GH2 has been established to tell this story and coordinate a dramatic acceleration of the green hydrogen sector.” The group said it was targeting green hydrogen to supply 25 per cent of the world’s energy by 2050. Mr Forrest said his iron ore empire is pivoting to become a major clean energy producer over the next decade, and is trialling programs that use hydrogen as a substitute for metallurgical coal in the steel-making process. Fortescue makes four key appointments as part of green push Forrest’s Wyloo takes bigger stake in BHP Canadian target Noront Metals BP eyes renewable energy hub at Kwinana While hydrogen produced from solar and wind power is not currently able to compete on cost with fossil fuels as a major source of energy supply, it is widely touted as the best future option to decarbonise industries like steel, cement, fertilisers, shipping and aviation. GH2, of which Mr Turnbull will be chairman, will host an international Green Hydrogen summit in Barcelona next May. “Too many of the national hydrogen policies and hydrogen association overlook the fact that hydrogen produced from fossil fuels will generally result in more CO2 emissions, not less,” Mr Turnbull said in the GH2 launch document. “GH2’s goal is to see green hydrogen used to decarbonise the huge range of industries that cannot reach net-zero emissions with electrification alone. Steel, cement, long-haul trucks, aircraft, fertilisers – these are all industries that need green hydrogen to reach zero.” GH2 will have an international secretariat spread across London, Perth, Sydney and Geneva, where its chief executive Jonas Moberg is based. Bloomberg