Introduction
Hydrogen is fast becoming a viable fuel for heavy-duty transport in Australia. With projects now underway to construct a network of refueling infrastructure in multiple States, we explore the barriers to establishing hydrogen as a commercial fuel.
Hydrogen vs Petrol
Hydrogen (as opposed to petrol) is not governed by a unified regulatory framework. Whilst Australia’s federal and state governments are supportive of developing a national hydrogen industry, the current approach is for each state and territory to create its own set of hydrogen policies. This leads to inconsistencies in the requirements to develop hydrogen projects, as well as a divergence in how the type of hydrogen (such as green or blue) is determined. These types of misalignments create unnecessary hurdles to cross-border hydrogen coordination.
Inconsistencies can however be overcome, as is evident from the Hume Hydrogen Highway project which aims to build a renewable hydrogen refueling network across three states along Australia’s eastern seaboard.
A 2018 study by ARENA and the University of Queensland identified safety as a key concern when it came to the public perception of hydrogen, and adequate safety tests were deemed an ‘extremely important’ factor for the participants to feel comfortable with the introduction of hydrogen-fueled vehicles.
To resolve these safety concerns, the study proposed introducing hydrogen-fueled public transport. This would allow consumers to become familiar with new technology and infrastructure, before making hydrogen fuel available for private use. Such initiatives are underway, with Queensland planning to introduce a fleet of 120 hydrogen fuel cell buses by 2040. Victoria will also soon start a $20 million Zero Emissions Bus Trial which will roll out two hydrogen fuel cell buses for use in school and public transport services in its western suburbs.
The cost of hydrogen was the next concern identified in the ARENA study, with some participants believing that the higher cost of hydrogen fuel and vehicles may be a turn-off for consumers. This concern was however off-set by arguments that the cost of petrol would only increase in future, leading to hydrogen being a cheaper long-term option.
Storing and Transporting Hydrogen
Hydrogen can be stored as a gas or a liquid, but its unique properties (such as having the highest energy per mass of any fuel and a boiling point of -252.9°C) call for specific safety requirements. Storing hydrogen as a gas means using large-volume, high-pressure tanks, while storing as a liquid has the additional requirement of using cryogenic temperatures to prevent boiling.
These properties require specific infrastructure to ensure that hydrogen can be supplied and stored in quick, easy and safe ways at refuelling stations.
One option is to physically deliver stores of hydrogen to refuelling stations, but due to hydrogen’s volatility and strict storage requirements, there are only a few established transport methods. One method is road transport using cryogenic liquid tanker trucks or gaseous tube trailers. Hydrogen can also be transported via pipelines which utilise a mix of metering stations, control valves, gates and storage facilities to directly ‘funnel’ hydrogen from the point of production to the point of use.
To address the transport challenge, Toyota Motors recently developed a new hydrogen storage module which utilises high pressure hydrogen tank technology to store up to 18.7kg of hydrogen for use in automobiles, with the potential to be developed for use by railways, shipping and fuel cell generators.
Electrolysers at Petrol Stations
An alternative to transporting hydrogen to refuelling stations would be to produce it on site by way of an electrolyser.
An electrolyser produces hydrogen through the process of electrolysis. By taking in water and converting it to its component parts – hydrogen and oxygen – the electrolyser releases oxygen but retains and stores hydrogen for future use.
Some projects to construct hydrogen refuelling stations include an electrolyser as a key part of the plan. For example, Viva Energy recently announced its $43.3 million plan to build a public hydrogen refuelling station at its Geelong refinery site, which includes the construction of a 2MW electrolyser. The site will be operational by 2023/24 and, once complete, should have capacity to refill 10 trucks every 1.5 hours.
Electrolysers may therefore be used to retrofit existing petrol stations to become hydrogen production facilities. However, since electrolysers run on electrical energy, a prerequisite would be to upgrade the electricity network in Australia.
In 2021 Toyota Australia announced plans to construct a hydrogen production facility and refuelling station out of its decommissioned car factory in Altona, Melbourne. With funding from ARENA, this facility incorporates a 200kW electrolyser, 84kW personal solar array, 100kW battery and stationary fuel cell to generate electricity to power the site. The project has been dubbed by Toyota as an ‘early-stage testing ground’ for the further development of hydrogen technology.
Conclusion
It is clear that hydrogen fuel has the potential for mainstream use in Australia. The advances in safety, convenience and utility of hydrogen through the development of storage modules and electrolysers will ensure that hydrogen will be viewed as a viable alternative source of fuel in Australia.
For more information, please contact Matt Baumgurtel – the head of the Hamilton Locke New Energy team.
Adriaan van der Merwe is a senior associate in the Hamilton Locke New Energy team.
Megan Chau is a graduate in the Hamilton Locke New Energy team.
