Hyundai, Jemena sign green hydrogen refueling deal

Australia’s emerging zero-emission vehicle industry is set to receive a boost on the back of a green hydrogen supply deal inked between Hyundai Australia, gas utility Jemena, and equipment supplier Coregas. The energy infrastructure company has committed, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to produce and deliver green hydrogen from its Western Sydney Green Gas project to Hyundai’s Macquarie Park headquarters, the only permanent hydrogen refueling station in Australia.

The hydrogen generated from solar and wind will be delivered under the deal from early 2021 in a bid to address one of the major challenges today to the uptake of zero-emission vehicles in Australia – the scarcity of refueling facilities. “A lack of critical refueling infrastructure is regularly cited as a hand-brake to hydrogen vehicle sales,” Jemena’s Managing Director, Frank Tudor, said. “Our agreement with Hyundai and Coregas releases some of that pressure and is an opportunity to demonstrate that renewably generated hydrogen gas can be made directly available to the vehicle and transport sectors.”

Under the MoU, hydrogen gas for transport will be generated as part of Jemena’s $15 million Western Sydney Green Gas project, which is being half-funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). In addition to supporting the zero-emission vehicle industry, the project will also produce green hydrogen, inject it into the existing gas network, and test how hydrogen gas can be stored and used for cooking, heating and hot water in homes and businesses across Jemena’s New South Wales gas network.

“We are demonstrating that electrolyzers not only produce safe and green hydrogen gas to blend with natural gas for home appliances but that they also enable hydrogen to be made available for zero-emission transportation,” Tudor said. The gas pipeline owner announced the purchase of its first electrolyzer to be located in Western Sydney last year.

Under the MoU, Coregas will provide hydrogen compression installation, pipework and connectors for filling and discharging, as well as hydrogen packaging, transportation, and quality control services. Coregas Executive General Manager, Alan Watkins, described the partnership with Hyundai and Jemena as a significant step forward for Australia’s hydrogen vehicle industry.

“Our partnership with Hyundai and Jemena is the first step towards demonstrating that Australia has the opportunity to be a world leader in the hydrogen-powered vehicle industry,” he said.

Australia’s only permanent refueling station at Hyundai’s Macquarie Park showroom in Sydney is soon to be joined by a refueling station under construction in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and others planned for Melbourne and Brisbane. The largest hydrogen vehicle fleet in Australia is the 20 Hyundai NEXO SUVs, soon to be deployed by the ACT Government.