The two companies are working together to create a historic hydrogen station in Tarcutta
Both Hydrogen Fuels Australia and Clara Energy have agreed to plan and build a green hydrogen distribution network along the Hume Highway corridor.
Clara Energy is a developer of a large-scale green hydrogen production facility in the New South Wales area of Tarcutta, with the group now planning to build a corridor worth $600 million that fuels the freight route with green hydrogen.
Both companies say the first hydrogen refuelling station is scheduled to open in 2025.
Hydrogen Fuels Australia and Clara Energy have both signed an MOU to fast-track the development of up to five hydrogen refuelling stations between Melbourne and Sydney.
Clara Energy says it is already well advanced with planning to begin operating one of the world’s largest green hydrogen production facilities halfway between Melbourne and Sydney by 2025.
Hydrogen Fuels Australia is currently constructing its own large-scale hydrogen refuelling station in Truganina, with the new proposed centre set to produce around 100,000 kilograms per day.
Hydrogen Fuels Australia will initially produce 60 to 90 kilograms of green hydrogen from its own 640-kilowatt solar array, with permits in place to increase the refuelling capacity at the site.
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The new hydrogen project in Tarcutta will involve Clara Energy developing production capacity at scale, while Hydrogen Fuels Australia will act as distributor and station operator, with the facilities to support freight and logistics companies looking to transition their fleets to hydrogen.
The companies say they will also build additional green hydrogen refuelling stations in Epping and Seymour in Victoria plus another in the Southern Highlands of NSW and a major station in Sydney to complete the Hume Highway network.
The agreement comes as the Victorian, NSW and Queensland governments recently announced a joint hydrogen highway strategy to create refuelling stations along the main east coast freight routes.
“Creating a green hydrogen production distribution network along the Hume Highway can help the whole hydrogen industry become viable in Australia,” Clara Energy CEO Nick Cleary says.
Hydrogen Fuels Australia managing director Francesco Ceravolo says: “What this partnership aims to create, for the first time in Australia, is a delivery of green hydrogen production and distribution at scale.”
“We believe green hydrogen is necessary to decarbonise heavy freight and ultimately lead to the complete displacement of diesel for green hydrogen.”