(Geelong, Victoria/Australia) – The Australian Viva Energy Group Ltd. is planning to build a hydrogen service station in the port city of Geelong in the state of Victoria. According to the information, this is the first commercial and publicly accessible gas station of its kind on the continent.
It is being built in the immediate vicinity of a Viva Energy oil refinery and is initially based on a two-megawatt electrolyser along with infrastructure for hydrogen compression, storage and delivery. Production will be based on renewable energy and recycled water and will facilitate the commercial use of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) in industries that cannot be easily decarbonized, such as heavy-duty transport, public transport or municipal waste management. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2023.
The state is supporting the construction with $23,8 million
The total cost of the project is $43,3 million. The Victorian government is funding the project with one million Australian dollars. The state-run Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is supporting the construction with a further $22,8 million (14,7 million euros).
The ARENA funding also includes the purchase of 15 fuel cell vehicles. According to Viva Energy, the “chicken-and-egg problem” can be overcome in this way, because the project not only provides hydrogen vehicles, but also provides their supply and infrastructure.
Partners deploying vehicles in the first year of the project include Toll Group with two hydrogen-powered tractors to transport fuel and Comfort DelGro Corporation Australia with two hydrogen buses for Geelong. Cleanaway is also on board with two hydrogen-powered trucks for municipal waste collection in the greater city area. Barwon Water is also participating with an FCEV to collect organic waste.
Focused on the future
The oil company wants to expand the site that was previously used solely for the refinery, convert its production areas and build an “energy hub focused on the future”. There is already a contract with the conglomerate Acciona SA to purchase 100 gigawatt hours of electricity annually from its “Mt. Gellibranc”, about an hour’s drive from Geelong. The yield covers almost a third of the refinery's annual requirements. 
In addition, a solar park with an output of 15 to 25 megawatts will be installed. This would cover another ten to twenty percent of electricity requirements. The solar farm will be built at the northern end of the Geelong refinery site and will be equipped with bifacial solar modules and single-axis tracking systems from unnamed manufacturers.
Blueprint for gas station network
Viva Energy also wants to set up a 150-kilowatt charging station for electric vehicles in its new “New Energies Service Station” (NESS). It is hoped that the entire system will serve as a catalyst to establish an entire network of such filling stations.
“Geelong is an ideal location,” said Viva managing director Scott Wyatt. There is a “highly skilled workforce, industrial facilities, access to the port, and the city is also close to major population centers where energy is needed.”
deep link
https://www.vivaenergy.com.au/media/news/2022/hydrogen-transport-future-for-geelong
Rendering of the “New Energies Service Station”. © ARENA
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Location of the planned solar farm to the north of the Viva refinery in Geelong. © Viva Energy Group
