Today Viva Energy announced the launch of Australia’s most ambitious hydrogen mobility project that will see the development of a New Energies Service Station in Geelong that is expected to be the catalyst for a network of hydrogen refuelling stations from Geelong to Sydney and onto Brisbane.
The service station, expected to commence operations in late 2023, will be Australia’s first publicly accessible commercial hydrogen refuelling station. It will also offer electric vehicle recharging alongside green hydrogen refuelling, bringing together the zero emission technologies that will support Australia’s energy transition.
The development will be a key component of Viva Energy’s Geelong Energy Hub, making the city a leader in the adoption of diverse commercial hydrogen-vehicle activity. With this investment, Viva Energy is driving the activation of hydrogen in a cross-section of transport applications and supporting Australia’s vision to become a hydrogen superpower.
The $43.3 million project will incorporate a 2-megawatt electrolyser for the generation of green hydrogen using recycled water from Barwon Water’s Northern Water Plant and is designed to facilitate the commercial deployment of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in a cross-section of industries that can’t be easily decarbonised. These include road freight, public transport, municipal waste management, water treatment and general fleet.
The project received a $22.8 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of ARENA's Advancing Renewables Program and brings together a series of diverse industry partners operating an initial fleet of 15 hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles that will be refuelled at the station. The Victorian Government also contributed $1 million to the project via the Renewable Hydrogen Commercialisation Pathways Fund. We thank both Federal and State Governments for their support.
Providing a holistic solution for the delivery of hydrogen vehicles and the supply of hydrogen, the project drives hydrogen demand in parallel with infrastructure development to overcome the ‘chicken-and-egg’ challenge that has traditionally been a key hurdle for the sector.
The project illustrates the benefits of industry and government working together to address carbon emissions in the commercial road transport sector.
