Clean energy agencies commit $15m for Townsville hydrogen hub

A landmark investment by the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation will help develop a hydrogen economy in Townsville.

A LANDMARK investment by the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation will help develop a hydrogen economy in Townsville while driving down emissions in the transport sector.

The CEFC has committed up to $12.5 million to help Ark Energy Corporation produce green hydrogen at the Sun Metals zinc refinery to power what are expected to be the world’s heaviest fuel cell electric trucks.

The project is also supported by $3.02 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, which has announced conditional approval, to be paid upon the commissioning of the refuelling facility and delivery of the five fuel cell electric trucks.

The commitments will finance five purpose-built, zero emissions trucks and the construction of hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure to fuel them.

The hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks will deliver zinc concentrates from Townsville port to the Sun Metals refinery, where they will refuel with green hydrogen produced on site, before taking zinc ingots back to the port in a 30 km clean energy round trip.

Ark Energy’s SunHQ hydrogen hub will include a 1 megawatt Polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyser, compressors, storage and refuelling infrastructure that will produce up to 158 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

It will be powered by renewable energy from the Sun Metals 124 MWac solar farm at

the zinc refinery.

The project is expected to kickstart a thriving hydrogen economy with the site able to supply green hydrogen for other customers.

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said Australia’s ability to continue reducing its emissions depended on how well we tackled those areas of the economy that are harder to abate.

“So it is significant that our first investment through the Advancing Hydrogen Fund will catalyse the decarbonisation of heavy transport, where electrification has proven challenging,” Mr Learmonth said.

The Sun Metals groups is acquiring five 140-tonne rated Hyzon Motors hydrogen fuel cell trucks which will be custom built for Australian conditions.

They are expected to be the first of their kind in Australia, replacing their diesel equivalents in the refinery’s Townsville Logistics fleet and abating about 1300 tonnes CO2 per year.

CEFC Head of Hydrogen Rupert Maloney said everything they learned about hydrogen use in heavy transport would help others keen to improve their sustainability.

“By demonstrating the suitability of what are expected to be the largest hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks in the world, this investment has the potential to spearhead further take up across the heavy transport sector, including mining and other industries such as rail, marine and even aviation,” Mr Maloney said.

Sunmetals

The project is the first phase of an ambitious strategy by Ark Energy that will initially focus on developing a domestic hydrogen industry in Queensland with the ultimate aim of exporting green hydrogen to Asia.

It reflects a broader sustainability strategy of the Korea Zinc group, including Sun Metals, which has joined the global RE100 initiative and aims to be the first refinery in the world to produce green zinc.

Ark Energy CEO Daniel Kim said they were committed to accelerating the Korea Zinc group’s energy transition.

“As part of our ambition to be the safest and most competitive producer of green hydrogen

in the world, we plan to be an extreme user of hydrogen, making it pervasive across the group’s businesses,” Mr Kim said.

“We also plan to be a demand creator of hydrogen, stimulating demand with third parties in the market.

“To help build demand for hydrogen, we need to supply it as cheaply as possible, which is

why the CEFC’s support is so critical. It also means that customers can leverage our production and refuelling infrastructure at SunHQ and won’t need to pay for the capital cost

of conversion away from diesel.

“It all adds up to kickstarting the development of North Queensland’s local hydrogen economy.”

Ark Energy lodged a development application for its SunHQ hydrogen hub with the State Government’s Office of the Coordinator-General earlier this year.

Originally published as Clean energy agencies commit $15m for Townsville hydrogen hub