Sister company Ark Energy signs Heads of Agreement on milestone delivery
Hydrogen fuel cell-powered heavy vehicles builder Hyzon has made more inroads into the Australian market, securing a customer for a fleet delivery here.
It has signed a heads of agreement targeting delivery of five hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks to Ark Energy, the Australian subsidiary of zinc, lead, and silver producer Korea Zinc.
Subject to execution of a definitive vehicle supply agreement, Hyzon expects to deliver five 154-tonne units to be used in road-train configurations by Ark Energy sister company Townsville Logistics.
This marks the second announced order for Hyzon’s ultra-heavy-duty class trucks, after the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a European customer.
“When we scoured the world for fuel cell trucks, we found that Hyzon Motors was the only hydrogen mobility company that could manufacture fuel cells stacks with a sufficient power density to meet our requirements including the ultra-heavy payload and built to Australian Design Rules,” Ark Energy CEO Daniel Kim said.
“In addition, Hyzon Motors was the only OEM that was interested in supplying the Australian market in the next 18 months.”
Though no further specifications are disclosed about the trucks, US-based Hyzon’s CEO, Craig Knight, is Australian and has recently bolstered the company’s local focus with the appointment of a Australia and New Zealand operations managing director.
More on Hyzon’s appointment of John Edgley, here
By replacing their diesel equivalents, Hyzon claims Ark’s trucks are expected to reduce C02 emissions by more than 1,400 tonnes per year.
Hyzon notes the trucks are expected to be fueled by Ark Energy’s own hydrogen refilling station, with hydrogen produced through a solar farm and electrolyser.
By generating hydrogen from a renewable energy source, Hyzon and Ark Energy aim to create a green solution for both ‘supply and utilisation’, enabling the first refinery to produce green zinc.
As part of this commitment, Ark Energy has also joined the Hyzon Zero Carbon Alliance as a founding member, forming a consortium of companies that operate along all points of the hydrogen value chain, aligning experience and expertise to accelerate the transition to zero-emissions.
“Through Ark Energy, Korea Zinc leads this notoriously hard-to-abate sector – demonstrating that decarbonisation can happen now,” Knight said.
“This initial order and Ark Energy’s hydrogen hub lays the foundation for an emissions-free future.”