Australia is set to gain its ‘first’ commercial hydrogen-powered heavy vehicle refuelling station through a new agreement between Coregas and Haskel Hydrogen Systems revealed today (Dec 1).

With this development, it is expected that the refuelling station will be online in the first half of 2022 in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven, Port Kembla site and will support the growing demand for hydrogen mobility solutions.

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This will greatly enhance the hydrogen ecosystem within the area and potentially see a surge in adoption of hydrogen solutions.

As part of the agreement, Haskel Hydrogen Systems Group will provide the hydrogen refuelling system to be used at the Port Kembla facility with the system expected to take hydrogen from the Coregas plant, compress it to 350 bar, and deliver it to a dispenser at the vehicle fuelling station 50 metres away.

Alan Watkins, Executive General Manager of Coregas, said, “Coregas is actively supporting the development of Australia’s hydrogen economy and using hydrogen in the decarbonisation of the transport sector is a key priority for us.

“We believe the shorter refuelling times, longer range, and higher payloads of hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles compared to equivalent battery electric vehicles means they will have a crucial role to play in making Australia’s transport sector sustainable.

“We are proud to be leading by example by operating our own Hyzon hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles from next year and expect strong interest from other organisations in accessing our hydrogen refuelling station in Port Kembla when it comes online.”

Stephen Learney, Vice-President and General Manager of Haskel, said, “Haskel are proud to be working with Coregas to support the adoption of hydrogen technology in Australia’s transport sector.

“We have worked with Coregas for many years through our local representation in Australia and are pleased to be able to continue our partnership to collaborate on this truly groundbreaking project.”