Port of Newcastle hydrogen hopes remain up in the air

MGA Thermal ceo Erich Kisi

Climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen will not confirm if a $100 million commitment from the previous government to support the development of the hydrogen sector at the Port of Newcastle will be honoured in the upcoming federal budget.

The funding was announced in the Coalition's March budget to help establish a hydrogen and ammonia manufacturing hub at Newcastle port.

Mr Bowen, who visited the Hunter on Wednesday, said the Labor government supported the growth of the hydrogen sector but would not commit to the funding.

"We are big supporters of the hydrogen industry," he said. "Obviously, as you would expect, we are assessing all of the commitments made by the previous government and we will have more to say in a budget context in October. "Having said that, we are big supporters of the development of the hydrogen industry,"

Mr Bowen visited MGA Themal's Tomago headquarters to announce $1.27million in funding for a project that will demonstrate its innovative thermal energy storage technology.

Energy minister Chris Bowen with Paterson MP Meryl Swanson and MGA Thermal chief executive Erich Kisi.

The MGA blocks can store heat for periods ranging from hours to days with minimal loss of energy.

He also visited Tomago Aluminium and Bloomfield Colliery.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.