“This is fantastic news and a big shot in the arm for an Illawarra renewable hydrogen hub.

“This partnership will create jobs and we can continue to what we do best: make steel which builds renewable energy technology and infrastructure across the country”, he said.

Mr Scully welcomed the plan to build a pilot-scale 10MW renewable energy hydrogen electrolyser to test the use of green hydrogen use in the blast furnace at Bluescope Steel.

He said the partnership between Bluescope Steel and Shell to develop a hydrogen hub in the Illawarra would be a boost to the Illawarra’s future with the opportunity of industry, workers, researchers and government working together across diverse industry sectors, such as energy, transport, and minerals.

“This is exactly the type of collaboration I had in mind from when I pushed the NSW Government to include the Illawarra as Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) during negotiations in the passage of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act in December 2020.

“While the Illawarra’s industry, unions and researchers are excited about the future and working together on opportunities like this partnership between Bluescope and Shell, the NSW Government must now also come to the party and quickly”, he said.

Mr Scully said that NSW Government had to release the $70 million in hydrogen funding, implement a promised a steel mandate for projects in REZs and invest in TAFE teaching courses to prepare a skilled workforce in renewable energy and hydrogen industry.

“The Illawarra is more than ready to play a role in contributing to the state’s and Australia’s net zero future, but we also need governments to back us in as well – and that, unfortunately, is missing at the moment”, he said.

He paid tribute to Bluescope Steel and Shell for making this partnership a reality by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

“I’m hoping the creation of this partnership will be an example to other sectors and spur them into joining together for other projects and collaborations to develop a strong Illawarra Hydrogen Hub”, Mr Scully said.