“Hydrogen: Cost and Technology Challenges”
Alex Dronoff
Chair, Hunter Hydrogen Taskforce
Date: Tuesday, 24 March 2026, 12.15 for 12.30 – 2.00 pm AEDT
Venue: Union University and Schools Club, 25 Bent Street, Sydney (corner of Bent and Philip Streets)
Enquiries: by email to RSNSW Events
Registration: Registration is required before 2.00 pm AEDT on Thursday, 19 March 2026
Cost: $75 (RSNSW or UUSC members); $85 (non-members/guests). A warm meal and wine will be served.
Dress: Smart business casual (jacket preferred); No denim.
Flyer: Downloadable from this link (to follow).
Hydrogen: Cost and Technology Challenges
A Future Made in Australia (FMiA) is a major federal government program (announced in the 2025-25 Federal budget) that establishes a policy framework called the National Interest Framework (NIF) that imposes rigour on government decision-making on public investments, particularly those that need to attract large-scale private investment. The program will see investment of $22.7 billion over the next decade, focused on two major streams:
- Net zero transformation; and
- Economic security and resilience.
The focus of this program is to utilise Australia’s abundant renewable energy resources to produce green hydrogen and use this to replace carbon in the manufacture of metals such as iron, steel and aluminium. This would substantially reduce or even eliminate emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the major contributors to global warming.
In this talk, Alex Dronoff will explore the cost and technology challenges in the production and safe handling of the very large volumes of green hydrogen required to have a major impact on the replacement of carbon in industrial processes such as green metals and fuels.
Alex Dronoff is chair of the Hunter Hydrogen Task Force and was a founding director of the Australian Hydrogen Council. He was appointed CEO of Fichtner Australia in 2021 to establish Fichtner’s operations in Australia, building on the strength, global expertise and experience of the German parent. Currently, he is a member of the Supervisory/Advisory Board of Fichtner Australia/New Zealand.
As CEO, he was responsible for the growth of the renewable engineering consulting business in the areas of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives such as ammonia, methanol, e-fuels, solar PV, concentrated solar power (CSP), battery energy storage systems (BESS), thermal storage, energy from waste (EfW) and pumped hydro.
Fichtner was commissioned by the Dutch and Australian Governments, in collaboration with the German Government, to undertake work in the certification of renewable hydrogen.
Before working for Fichtner, Alex developed and grew the Clean Energy business for BOC/Linde and was one of the pioneers in advocating the need for the energy transition and developed the early pilot hydrogen projects. He is a senior executive with over 30 years’ experience (including 15 years with Shell, both nationally and internationally) in the traditional oil and gas industries, before focusing on renewable energy.
| Royal Society of New South Wales | |
| Date: | Tuesday, 24 March 2026, 12:30 PM |
| Venue: | Union University and Schools Club, 25 Bent Street, Sydney (corner of Bent and Philip Streets) |
| Entry: | $75 (RSNSW/UUSC members), $85 (non-member/guests) |
In Person Event
All are Welcome
31 December 2026
Various face-to-face and online venues 
