Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during the leaders talk of the ASEAN-Indo Pacific Forum (AIPF) in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

CANBERRA - Australia's Prime Minister (PM) said Friday that clean energy sits "at the heart" of the government's plan to build a resilient economy for Australia's future.

In a keynote speech to the Future Energy forum in Sydney, PM Anthony Albanese laid out his vision for using the clean energy switch to drive economic growth and prosperity.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese identified green hydrogen exports as an area of "great potential" for Australia

Albanese told the conference that his government's plan would spur regional growth, and suburban jobs and reinvigorate the country's stagnating manufacturing industry.

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"It all sits at the heart of our plan to build a stronger, more resilient economy for Australia's future," he said. "The jobs, the communities, the cities, the industries, the very country that we want to create are all intertwined with how we tackle energy."

He identified green hydrogen exports as an area of "great potential" for Australia.

The 2022 State of Hydrogen report published by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water in April projected that by 2050, the country's hydrogen industry could generate 50 billion Australian dollars ($32.2 billion) in additional gross domestic product (GDP).

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To capitalize on the energy opportunity, Albanese said on Friday that Australia must invest in transmission, describing it as a "critical step.

"We want to ensure business and industry can access reliable and affordable clean energy to reduce their input costs and their emissions," he said.