Hydrogen refuelling station for heavy transport vehicles in Australia

Coregas has launched its H2Station hydrogen refuelling station for heavy vehicles, which could help to stimulate Australia’s emerging hydrogen sector.

While Australia’s renewable energy revolution is underway, the transport sector remains a largely untapped opportunity for emissions reductions. Unlike batteries for electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) powered by hydrogen can provide heavy vehicles with a lighter, longer-distance solution combined with fast refuelling and high payload capability.

Construction of the $2 million H2Station has been assisted by a $500,000 NSW Government grant.

The refuelling station will facilitate the introduction of zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell trucks to the Illawarra Shoalhaven region and future industry partners using H₂ heavy vehicles will be encouraged to access the H2Station, which can refuel up to 10 vehicles daily.

“Locating H2Station alongside Coregas’s existing hydrogen production plant and transport hub for bulk hydrogen in Port Kembla created operational and cost efficiencies,” said Alan Watkins, Executive General Manager at Coregas in Australia. “The H2Station will allow hydrogen trucks to access the majority of the Illawarra Shoalhaven region and reach metropolitan Sydney.”

Transitioning Coregas’s diesel truck fleet to FCEVs is a cornerstone of the company’s decarbonisation roadmap.

“Coregas’s diesel truck fleet travels more than 6 million kilometres every year,” Watkins said. “That’s equivalent to driving 150 times around the world, which contributes to 54% of Coregas’s carbon emissions.”

Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said the NSW Government was proud to support this pioneering project to refuel Australia’s first hydrogen-powered heavy road vehicles.

Working with project partner Haskel, the H2Station will compress hydrogen from the existing Coregas plant up to 500 bar, enabling supply into the 350-bar cylinders on board the FCEV. The hydrogen-dispensing system has the capacity to discharge 400 kilograms of fuel cell-grade hydrogen.