Viva Energy hydrogen service station on track to open next year
The New Energies Service Station will be a publicly accessible, green hydrogen refuelling station co-located with EV charging
Viva Energy has announced further significant steps towards delivery of its industry-leading hydrogen refuelling station, designed to service a diverse set of Australia’s most prominent commercial transport fleets.
Viva Energy has placed orders for a 2.5MW electrolyser for the creation of green hydrogen as well as a fast-fuelling hydrogen dispensing system capable of refuelling multiple vehicles at once. This equipment will be the first of its kind in the Australian market and is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2023.
The containerised electrolyser is being provided by Nel Hydrogen US, a subsidiary of Nel ASA in Norway, together with its local partner ENGV, and is expected to be the largest in Australia by a considerable margin. Once installed, it will be at least twice the size of any other electrolyser producing green hydrogen in the country.
In addition, Viva Energy is partnering with Air Liquide for the provision of a ‘fast fill’ hydrogen refuelling package designed to refuel at least 10 trucks or busses consecutively. This leading-edge system will be the largest in Australia and will be capable of dispensing 300 kg of hydrogen in under two hours.
Together, this equipment will provide Viva Energy with the capacity to generate and deliver more than 1,000 kilograms of green hydrogen per day, powering a fleet of at least 15 hydrogen fuel cell heavy vehicles and providing hydrogen customers with a similar refueling experience to today’s traditional service station.
Green hydrogen is not currently available in commercial, deliverable quantities in Australia, so Viva Energy’s delivery model involves the production of green hydrogen onsite through the utilisation of renewable electricity and recycled water.
The electrolyser will produce hydrogen by using renewable electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The recycled water will be supplied from Barwon Water’s Northern Water Plant.
While this will be Australia’s first publicly accessible commercial hydrogen refuelling station, overseas the technology has been in use for more than 10 years and there are more than 680 hydrogen refuelling stations in 33 countries.
Viva Energy’s hydrogen mobility project was made possible through $22.8 million funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and $1 million from the Victorian Government’s Renewable Hydrogen Commercialisation Pathways Fund.
