b'Education matters getting all that paper converted intoMP: Many exciting developmentsmodels and thought in this space. SA has digital formats back in the 1990s underrelated to hydrogen are taking place inattracted all the interest so far because the States ground-breaking explorationSouth Australia today. So what kind ofwe were the \x1drst state where exploration initiatives. Now companies have to submitspecialists are required to pursue thefor natural hydrogen and transmission in data in digital format. So we have massivehydrogen economy in Australia? pipelines can occur. Other jurisdictions amounts of digital data. We are passionateare working to enable this now.about data. It sounds very nerdish, butEA: From a government agency point a lot of us in the Department are dataof view, to get to a hydrogen economyAll of these things came together wonks. We just love data. We are making- this could include gold, blue andto trigger a massive rush by sure we get it from companies, its veri\x1dedgreen hydrogenstarting at the beginning for all of the colours of theexplorers over the last 18 months and archived until its released to openhydrogen rainbow - were going toto apply for licences to explore for \x1dle for our customers and stakeholders to access. Ive always taken the view thatneed to provide an e\x1eective regulatorynatural hydrogen.the key to discovering the next Olympicregime, easy access to data and a Dam or Cooper Basin could be sitting in asecure tenement regime for explorersGold Hydrogen has announced that database, or it could be sitting at the coreor project proponents. Companiesthey will be undertaking a roadside soil library waiting to be found. will need engagement experts to helpgas survey and acquiring an airborne get land owners, traditional ownersgeophysical survey over the Yorke and communities on board with landPeninsula in Q1/2 2023 following their The next Olympic Dam or Cooperaccess and environmental experts tocommunity engagement programme. Basin could be sitting in amanage impacts. Then we get to STEMH2EX will commence soil sampling over database skills again! If its exploration for goldthe Eyre Peninsula soon. Dr Ema Frery hydrogen it needs geoscientists, if itsof CSIRO in Perth is a leading Australian Whats exciting now is that all of thisconstructing a hydrogen plant, pipelineresearcher in the \x1deld detection of lovely digital data needs to be madeand export facilities it needs engineers,natural hydrogen and is involved. more accessible and available for peoplechemists, technologists, designers, safetyGold Hydrogen are planning to drill an to apply AIwhat sort of expertise andexperts, civil and chemical engineersexploration well and have been working e\x1eort does that take? What could you getand specialised builders. If green or bluewith Schlumberger on specialised safety, out of SA DEMs mineral and petroleumhydrogen is to be stored undergroundlogging, and drilling equipment for the rig.databases by applying some of the newthat needs geoscientists and petroleum engineers. However, as exciting as this all is, it is AI systems, ChatGPT and whatever theearly days with natural hydrogen with analytical tools will be in future? WhatIn terms of gold or natural hydrogenonly one producing \x1deld in Mali in West on earth could you unleash with that?in South Australia, we had a legislativeAfrica. Many will be watching Australian How do we make it easy for people toor regulatory tweak that occurred incompany Hyterras current testing of mine our data and then play with it? SoFebruary 2021. It enabled hydrogen toa natural hydrogen well in the USA. I thats a big push for the Department,become a regulated substance whichcant wait to see how things progress in and universities are responding withmeant that explorers could apply forSA in what will be a critical year for this new courses like applied data analyticsPetroleum Exploration Licenses to explorepotential new energy resource.for engineers and geoscientists. Sofor natural hydrogen, store hydrogen and thats opening up a whole new \x1deldtransmit it via pipelines. Theres a wholeMP: Its all fascinating. Do you think we of specialisation for students thatlot of data and reports about hydrogenhave enough specialists of the right kind could apply to the energy resourceoccurrences in the Departments archive,to progress with the hydrogen economy and minerals sectors or medicinesome of which go back to 1915, 1921, andin Australia?agriculture defence space. Professor1931. Viacheslav Zgonniks 2019 global Graham Heinson, who Preview readersreview of natural hydrogen occurrencesEA: I think in some \x1delds were doing \x1dne will be familiar with for his work onincluded these South Australianbut no doubt the hydrogen economy magnetotelluric surveys, is one of theoccurrences. Professor Isabelle Morettiwill require new specialised skill sets too. leading academics who is launchinganalysed imagery of Australian salt lakesPutting aside STEM issues, Australia has programmes on data analytics at thethat could be possible natural hydrogenworld-leading experienced geoscientists University of Adelaide. seeps and published another piece ofin the \x1delds of mineral exploration and evidence in 2021. petroleum exploration who have the Perhaps well see a bright graduate inskills and expertise for natural hydrogen data analytics who doesnt know whatA company called Gold Hydrogen wasexploration. Australian innovators and a seismic line was, but can apply AI tosmart enough to put this all together andinventors, universities and the CSIRO look at it afresh - so let them loose on thewas the \x1drst mover in mid-2021 to applyhave the expertise needed to develop data and see what happens. Or you havefor Petroleum Exploration Licences tonew exploration technologies and a geophysicist or a geologist coming atexplore speci\x1dcally for natural hydrogenmethodologies. However, with the great it from the traditional earth science side.in SA. All of these things came togethercrew change underway in the petroleum Youre going to need a bit of both. Notto trigger a massive rush by explorersand mineral sectors, we need a stream of being an expert in AI, I do think it will needover the last 18 months to apply forenthusiastic STEM graduates who see a expert steering by geoscientists ratherlicences to explore for natural hydrogencareer ahead of them in these exiting new than data scientists. There are massivetheres now over 40 applications fromopportunities - whether its green, gold opportunities to develop new skills,seven companies whove all got theiror blue hydrogen, carbon capture and but we still need people with our earthown exploration models and ideas. Itsstorage or discovering natural gas for the science background interpreting data. great to see a diversity of explorationnations energy transition.JUNE 2023 PREVIEW 26'