Toyota Australia, with funding assistance from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), has unveiled plans to build a $7.4 million Hydrogen Centre at the company’s former car manufacturing site at Altona in Melbourne.

As part of the Hydrogen Centre project, existing manufacturing infrastructure will be repurposed into Victoria’s first integrated hydrogen site, complete with electrolyser, commercial grade hydrogen refuelling station and an education centre with live demonstrations.

ARENA will contribute $3.1 million towards the Hydrogen Centre development, with Toyota Australia investing the remaining $4.3 million.

Toyota Australia’s President and CEO Matt Callachor said the Hydrogen Centre announcement was a step towards the company meeting its target of zero CO2 emissions from sites and vehicles by 2050.

“This is a very exciting time for Toyota Australia. Today’s announcement with ARENA aligns with our global drive to promote sustainable mobility and to play a leading role in the transition to a decarbonised future,” said Mr Callachor.

“Hydrogen has the potential to play a pivotal role in the future because it can be used to store and transport energy from wind, solar and other renewable sources to power many things, including vehicles like the Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV).

“Right now, the biggest factor to the success of hydrogen being widely available is the lack of infrastructure. The sooner we move to a zero emissions society, the better, and Toyota is committed to making this a reality.”

Construction on the Hydrogen Centre will commence this year, with the education centre expected to be open by December 2019, and the electrolyser and hydrogen refuelling station fully operational by late 2020.

Once up and running, Toyota says the hydrogen refuelling station will be able to fill a vehicle, like Toyota’s Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), in between three and five minutes.

Source: Motor Trader E-Magazine (April 2019 Edition)

5 Apr 2019