Ricochet Yachting and H2EC sign MOU to develop hydrogen yacht in Whitsundays
A Hamilton Island tour operator and energy company co-founder meet. What happens next could transform the way we visit our greatest natural asset.
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A Whitsunday tour operator is developing a luxury vessel to be run purely on hydrogen to be produced south of Bowen in what is hailed an Australian-first.
Ricochet Yachting and H2 Energy Company last week signed a landmark memorandum of understanding to fuel a purpose-built luxury vessel using hydrogen produced in the Whitsundays.
Ricochet owner Frank Hobson has operated luxury yacht tours from Hamilton Island for more than a decade and had wanted to develop emission-free operations for years, but it had been financially unviable.
But collaborating with H2EC, he said, would shore up hydrogen supply to fuel the vessel he hoped to build in Cannonvale.
"We have always wanted to do this but we need a vessel that is quite fast and able to cover a huge amount of miles in one day," Mr Hobson said.
"We haven't wanted to be adding to the greenhouse gases so we need a green vessel and that is where hydrogen came into play.
"If it is all successful, we will be one of the first commercial tourism vessels to use this.
"There's a few barge vessels out there doing freight on rivers in Europe and other large operations including a ferry in San Francisco and we are following in the wake of that project because this is a similar project - taking passengers.
"We will be doing the same thing."
Initial outlays are expected to be high with Mr Hobson acknowledging that the emerging technology and vessel build would be a big cost to his company, and operationally higher than using traditional fossil fuels.
But projections that hydrogen will come in under $2 per kilogram by 2030 suggested it was a savvy financial decision now, compelled by the environmental savings.
"We would use a small amount of hydrogen compared to diesel in both storage and usage which is a big, big advantage because when it is put through a hydrogen cell, the only emission is pure water," Mr Hobson said.
H2 Energy Company co-founder and chief commercial officer Simon Daniel said the applications in electric outboard engines would quieten the vessels, reducing noise pollution on tours and increasing the profile of zero-emission holidays for the environmentally conscious.
Mr Daniel said the uptake in hydrogen as a replacement fuel was hampered by unreliable supplies and the cost, but H2EC was developing linked hubs to address those concerns.
One hub is planned for Top Shelf International's agave farm south of Bowen where Mr Daniel has reached a collaboration agreement to develop the technology.
"The major obstacle hindering the uptake in hydrogen as a replacement fuel is that (supplies) are not accessible or reliable," he said.
"The important thing here is you have to have collaborative agreements with offtakes.
"The costs are so high at the moment you can't overbuild the facilities that could produce too much hydrogen because that is not an efficient use of capital.
"(The agave farm) has a need and will have a reliable supply with the plant to supply (those) needs.
"So you end up with this staged approach until the conventional market forces take over (and) the costs come down for both production and consumer."
The long-term potential, he said, was to fuel entirely emission free holidays, from cars and buses at Whitsunday Airport to Great Barrier Reef boat operators all running on hydrogen.
"That's what we want to do; we want to make Hamilton Island and the Whitsundays a hydrogen hub so you can go on a diesel vessel or a hydrogen vessel - make an independent choice which boat to go out on.
"As soon as it becomes cheaper and cost effective."
Mr Hobson said Ricochet had developed plans for the green vessel and hoped to build it in Cannonvale.
He said the yacht was a two-year build and it would be a "Queensland product".
"We don't have to look too far for projects like this," he said.
"Queensland is blessed. This is very much a Queensland product - the first in the world and a first in Australia."
Mr Daniel echoed that sentiment, buoyed by ongoing support from the Whitsunday Regional Council, Tourism Whitsunday as well as the state government.
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"Queensland is the place to do business if you're wanting to do a hydrogen plant," he said.
"At a local and regional level, Tourism Whitsunday and the council's Climate Change Innovation Hub has been taking things seriously.
"They're walking the talk. They can also see the two main industries in the region - tourism and agriculture - stand to benefit from this."
Originally published as Ricochet Yachting and H2EC sign MOU to develop hydrogen yacht in Whitsundays
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