Hydrogen Headstart: first round – Murchison and Orica receive more than AUD 1.2 billion in funding

The Australian agency ARENA selected two projects in the first round of the Hydrogen Headstart programme: Murchison Green Hydrogen in Western Australia (AUD 814 million) and Orica's Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub in New South Wales (conditionally up to AUD 432 million). In total this is more than AUD 1.2 billion of support for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia.

How Headstart works

Hydrogen Headstart is a competitive ARENA programme. According to the ARENA announcement, the support takes the form of a production credit that bridges the gap between the market price and the cost of production; it is paid out only after the project has been built and commissioned, on the basis of production volumes over a 10-year operating period. Before payment, the recipient must meet the conditions precedent and reach commercial operation. The first winner was announced in March 2025 (Murchison), the second in July 2025 (the Orica hub).

Murchison

Murchison Green Hydrogen is a Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners project near Kalbarri in Western Australia: up to 1.5 GW of electrolysers and an ammonia plant with a capacity of 3,600 t per day, designed to operate off-grid (about 1.2 GW of photovoltaics, 1.7 GW of wind and a 600 MW/1200 MWh battery). The support awarded is AUD 814 million.

Orica Hunter Valley

Orica's Hunter Valley Hydrogen Hub is a project with a 50 MW electrolyser on Kooragang Island, which is to gradually replace natural gas in the production of ammonia and ammonium nitrate. Funding of up to AUD 432 million is conditional: it depends on the final investment decision and on meeting the conditions precedent.

Second round

The second round of the Hydrogen Headstart programme is the next stage; its progress is described in the update.

Relationship to biogas

Headstart funds hydrogen from electrolysis. Biomethane is not covered by the programme. No separate pathway has been provided for biohydrogen from biogas (e.g. the Hazer process).

What this means for Poland and Europe

Programmes such as Headstart show that large hydrogen projects need support tied to production (at ARENA: a production credit paid over 10 years of operation) rather than capital grants alone. Similar logic appears in the EU offer (the European Hydrogen Bank auctions). For the biogas sector this is a warning: if biomethane is to compete for support, it must have its own, clearly described instrument.