PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Construction work has started on Australia’s first hydrogen refuelling facility at a public service station in Queensland.

Queensland Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said the hydrogen refuelling stop at one of Brisbane’s busiest service stations, the BP truck stop at Port of Brisbane, would be a critical link on the east coast hydrogen superhighway. 

“Queensland has taken an early lead in the race to transform the heavy-haulage transport sector to renewable hydrogen. The opportunity for this energy revolution is up for grabs, all we have to do is take the ball and run with it.

“From hydrogen-powered trucks and coaches to trains and marine vessels, we are exploring every opportunity to capitalise on the opportunities of Queensland’s energy transformation,” he said.

The state-of-the-art refuelling stop will be able to refill a hydrogen car in three to five minutes.

The green hydrogen will be produced by a 220 kW electrolyser powered by solar energy generated by a 100 kW solar array at BOC’s Bulwer Island facility.

BP VP for fleet, dealer and electrification Australia and New Zealand Tanya Ghosn said that BP was pleased to bring its global experience and capability to the task of helping their customers decarbonise as they advanced their strategy to achieve net zero by 2050, or sooner, and help the world get there.

“But we also know that we can’t do it alone and are proud to partner with the Queensland Government and BOC on this nation-leading initiative,” she said.

BOC South Pacific MD John Evans said that he was proud to be partnering with BP Australia to demonstrate how state-of-the-art hydrogen refuelling stations can be safely integrated into the existing service station network.

“This is a significant step in building a national hydrogen refuelling network that can be scaled to support hydrogen trucks and buses in the future,” he said.

De Brenni said that with the pace and scale of the state’s energy transformation, there’s a need for more than 48 000 job opportunities on top of the current workforce to achieve the state’s goals.

“To meet the global challenges of tomorrow, we’re accelerating the development of Queensland-made hydrogen, creating more jobs in more industries for Queenslanders,” he said.

“Securing Australia’s sovereign energy independence involves reducing our reliance on imported fuel to power our transport sector. It’s critical we work with industry players like BOC, BP and the fuels sector to reduce our reliance on imports.”