The city missed out in a round of announcements made last year which named Gladstone among a group of regional centres as a hydrogen hub.

But Townville made the grade today as Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the city as part of his campaign.

Three early-stage development project grants will also be funded and six carbon capture and storage projects would also receive funding.

Morrison said the Coalition was committing $275 million to clean hydrogen and carbon capture projects bringing the total private and public co-investment for Queensland to more than $535 million.

Townsville’s hydrogen hub would receive $70 million while a similar amount would be committed to Stanwell Corporation’s central Queensland hydrogen hub.

“Queensland has got the goods, it has the natural resources that the world wants and the skills and know-how that are needed to seize new opportunities,” Morrison said.

“Ensuring affordable and reliable energy, while meeting our emissions reductions targets, is key to our national economic plan.

“Queensland is playing an important role in delivering on our economic plan by supercharging the state’s position as a global energy powerhouse, growing export opportunities and creating thousands more jobs, particularly in regional Queensland.

Morrison said more than 5700 jobs would be created by 2025 when the two new projects become operational.

“We are backing Queensland to play a leading role in Australia’s emerging hydrogen industry,” he said.

Energy minister Angus Taylor said the range of these projects to be funded was a demonstration of Queensland’s ability to use existing skills from its LNG industry.

“Queensland has great potential to become a clean hydrogen producing powerhouse, with its access to local low-cost gas, carbon capture opportunities and renewables potential,” Minister Taylor said.

“There is a lot of interest in both Gladstone and Townsville from key hydrogen consumer countries including Japan and Korea. Today’s announcement will help to secure this important international investment and partnership into regional Queensland communities.

“We can also help to make our LNG sector even more attractive to our international customers through proving up affordable and world-leading carbon capture technologies. This will not only reduce emissions from LNG production, but can also capture emissions from other processes such as electricity generation or cement production.

A re-elected Coalition Government is committed to delivering up to $70 million to establish a clean hydrogen hub in Townsville.

Ark Energy would receive $2.4 million for its Han-Ho H2 Hub feasibility study.

Stanwell Corporation’s Central Queensland Hydrogen Hub would receive about $70 million. Up to $3 million would go to Vena Energy Services Euroa Energy project and $44.9 million would be paid to Fortescue Future Industries’ electrolsyer manufacturing facility in Gladstone.