Heavy vehicle hydrogen refuelling facility scores funding

Port Kembla facility gains community investment fund cash

 

Top domestic gases company Coregas is hailing funding for its tilt at hydrogen refuelling for heavy transport.

The New South Wales company has gained round-four cash from the state government’s Port Kembla Community Investment Fund, aimed partly at rejuvenating the area as it transitions away from legacy industries.

Coregas says it aims to develop a hydrogen refuelling station by late this year at its existing Port Kembla hydrogen production facility, “supporting the introduction of zero emission hydrogen fuel cell trucks to the Illawarra-Shoalhaven region for the first time.

“The facility will enable the deployment of Australia’s first prime mover fleet of hydrogen powered vehicles to initiate a transformation of the region’s transport environmental footprint.”

It is supported in the endeavour by steelmaker Bluescope, with the refuelling facility to be located on the site of their Port Kembla Steelworks.

The move comes seven months after news that Coregas joined Hyundai and Jamena in a memorandum of understanding on hydrogen refuelling, related in that instance to federal certification of Hyundai’s hydrogen passenger vehicle, the Nexo.


Read about Daimler and Volvo making progress together on fuel cell tech, here


“The Port Kembla hydrogen mobility facility will demonstrate the suitability of fuel cell vehicles to Australian fleets as a commercially ready solution and showcase the technology’s potential to improve energy security, create jobs and investment, and decarbonise the transport sector,” Coregas says.

“Decarbonisation opportunities will be immediate with the project to deliver 50 per cent emissions reductions from the vehicles that utilise the station.”

Coregas is also exploring opportunities for renewable hydrogen sources for future use to further reduce its environmental footprint.

It say the  project also represents a strategic first step in developing a broader ‘hydrogen ecosystem’ for Port Kembla and Illawarra-Shoalhaven.

“Coregas is committed to initiatives that drive innovation for cleaner energy with hydrogen a priority, executive general manager Alan Watkins says.

“This project marks an important step in our hydrogen strategy, and we appreciate the assistance of the NSW government in supporting our vision for a hydrogen ecosystem at Port Kembla.

“We look forward to leveraging Coregas’ deep expertise in the production and distribution of hydrogen to bring hydrogen refuelling capability to Port Kembla for the first time and enabling the development of a new zero emission transport solution for the region and greater NSW.

“We believe this project is a game changer for Australia and forms part of Coregas’ commitment to develop the Australian hydrogen sector complementing our work on the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain project creating a liquid hydrogen supply chain between Australia and Japan and our many years of supporting the hydrogen fuel needs of automotive companies, including Hyundai Australia.”

 

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