Hydrogen Fuels Australia (H2FA) and CLARA Energy, a developer of a large-scale green hydrogen production facility in Tarcutta NSW, have agreed to plan and build a green hydrogen distribution network along the Hume Highway corridor, worth $600 million, with the first hydrogen refuelling station scheduled to open in 2025.
The two Australian-based hydrogen companies have signed an MOU to fast-track their joint development of up to five hydrogen refuelling stations between Melbourne and Sydney.
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CLARA Energy is already well advanced with planning to start operations by 2025 of one of the world’s largest green hydrogen production facilities in Tarcutta NSW (halfway between Melbourne and Sydney). H2FA is currently constructing their own large-scale hydrogen refuelling station (HRS) in Truganina, in the heart of Melbourne’s largest warehousing and distribution region.
Initially, H2FA’s 5ha site will produce 60-90kg of green hydrogen from its own 640kW solar array using a Green Hydrogen Systems A/S Electrolyser. Permits are in place to ramp up to a refuelling capability of up to 6,500kg per day, making it one of the largest hydrogen refuelling stations in the world.
The two companies are collaborating on the large-scale hydrogen project in Tarcutta, NSW, whereby CLARA Energy will be developing production capacity at scale, and H2FA will act as distributor and station operator. The facilities will support freight and logistics companies transitioning their fleets from diesel to hydrogen. Each diesel truck replaced with a hydrogen alternative will abate approximately 2.4 ton of CO2 on a Melbourne to Sydney return journey, demonstrating how transitioning diesel trucks to hydrogen offers a major decarbonisation opportunity for Australia.
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The companies are planning to build additional green hydrogen refuelling stations in Epping and Seymour in Victoria, plus another in the Southern Highlands of NSW and a major refuelling station in Sydney. This will complete Australia’s first Hume Highway green hydrogen refuelling network.
The agreement between CLARA Energy and H2FA comes as the Victorian, NSW and Queensland governments announced a tripartite Hydrogen Highway strategy to create hydrogen refuelling stations along the main arterial roads along the East Coast of Australia, to facilitate a smooth transition from diesel to green hydrogen transport in the coming decades.
