June 30, 2025 [H2 View]- Stanwell Corporation has officially axed its multi-billion-dollar Queensland green hydrogen project and pulled out of its other hydrogen development programmes.

The Queensland state-owned energy firm said that it had “discontinued” its involvement in the Central Queensland Hydrogen Project (CQ-H2), following months of controversy and unsuccessful funding efforts.

Stanwell did not explain the decision, but said CQ-H2 had been a “valuable international collaboration” that provided “important technical and commercial knowledge” that could support large-scale green hydrogen commercialisation.

The project had been hanging in the balance for months, after the Queensland Government rejected Stanwell’s AUD $1bn funding request and two potential Japanese offtakers withdrew from the development.

CQ-H2 planned to initially install at least 640MW of electrolysis to produce hydrogen for local industries and export markets in Asia. Stanwell intended to scale up the project to over 2.2GW by 2031.

It had been shortlisted for subsidies by the federal government’s first Hydrogen Headstart programme.

It comes as the latest blow for the Australian green hydrogen market, which has seen numerous federal and state-backed projects fail, opening the door for stark criticism of the energy carrier.

With hydrogen’s role under increased scrutiny, proponents argue that initiatives like Hydrogen Headstart and the AUD $2/kg production incentive are vital to reaching final investment decisions.