The Victorian Government will contribute more than $1 million towards the establishment of the Victorian Hydrogen Hub (VH2) being undertaken by a partnership between CSIRO and the Swinburne University of Technology.
VH2 is designed to bring researchers, industry partners and businesses together to test, trial and demonstrate new and emerging hydrogen technologies and will incorporate a hydrogen fuelling station and a program to fuel and test hydrogen vehicles.
The refuelling station will be located at CSIRO’s Clayton campus in Victoria and is a key milestone in the development of CSIRO’s national Hydrogen Industry Mission, which aims to support Australia’s clean hydrogen industry and is estimated to create more than 8000 jobs, generate $11 billion a year in GDP and support a low emissions future.
“We know hydrogen is clean and will be cost-competitive, but a major barrier to it becoming a fuel source for cars and trucks is how to refuel, and the lack of refuelling infrastructure,” said CSIRO Executive Director, Growth, Nigel Warren.
“The refueller is a significant step towards removing that barrier.”
Construction will take place as part of the development of VH2 which will be a hydrogen production and storage demonstration facility, where CSIRO, Swinburne and their partners will test ‘real world’ uses for hydrogen technology.
The refueller project will demonstrate a fleet trial for CSIRO hydrogen vehicles with the potential for expansion, providing refuelling opportunities to other zero emission Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) in the local area.
The Victorian Hydrogen Hub will be connected to a matching facility to be built by ARENA 2036 in Germany. This research facility brings industry on campus at the University of Stuttgart.
The partnership presents a unique opportunity for those involved to work closely with the sector, across continents, to create scalable, global, hydrogen-based solutions.
