Article by Amanda Jasi AUSTRALIA’s budget for this fiscal year will see it invest A$539.2m (US$416.6m) in hydrogen and carbon capture, use, and storage (CCS/CCUS) projects that will support industry, create 2,500 jobs, help cut emissions, and drive further investment. The investment is expected to reduce technical and commercial barriers to deploying these technologies and encourage new large-scale investment from the private sector, creating jobs and supporting the nation’s economic recovery, particularly in regional areas. The Government intends to spend A$275.5m of the budget to accelerate development of four additional clean hydrogen hubs in regional Australia and implement a clean hydrogen certification scheme. In February, Australia announced pans for 13 regional hydrogen cluster. The remaining A$263.7m will be used to support development of CCS/CCUS projects and hubs.