SunHQ will be one of the largest fully integrated, green hydrogen production and refuelling facilities in Australia. The facility will have a production capacity of 155 tpy of green hydrogen, approximately 90 t of which will be used to power five 140 tonne-rated Hyzon Motors fuel cell electric trucks (FCET). These FCETs are expected to be the largest of their kind in the world.
Ark Energy will own the FCETs and lease them to its sister company, Townsville Logistics, which will incorporate them into its short haul fleet operating as road trains to transport zinc concentrate from the Port of Townsville to the Sun Metals Zinc Refinery, and the finished zinc ingots from the refinery to the port. The zero-emission trucks will replace their diesel equivalents and avoid 1 300 tpy of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
“We are thrilled to celebrate the start of construction for SunHQ. We’re excited about the catalytic potential of SunHQ to build the domestic hydrogen economy of North Queensland and bring forward the decarbonisation of Australia’s ultra-heavy transport sector by several years,” said CEO of Ark Energy, Daniel Kim.
The SunHQ project has been supported with funding of up to AUS$8 million from the Queensland Government’s Hydrogen Industry Development Fund. The landmark project is also the first hydrogen project in Australia to be jointly supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). It has received a AUS$3.02 million grant from ARENA and is being supported by a AUS$12.5 million debt finance facility from the CEFC.
It is anticipated that the production and testing of green hydrogen from SunHQ will commence by the end of Q124, with the first FCET expected to be delivered by the end of Q224.