Plans for a new hydrogen refuelling station at Corio have been lodged with the council.
Viva Energy unveiled plans for the $43.3m “new energies” service station last year.
The first of its kind in Australia, the project would provide heavy vehicles the option to refuel using green hydrogen.
According to the planning report, the Refinery Rd site would include a service station with hydrogen at the bowser, electric vehicle charging as well as the “conventional diesel refuelling of vehicles from bowsers”.
“The project is designed to facilitate the commercial deployment of hydrogen fuelled heavy Fuel Cell EVs (FCEVs) across a mix of industries that cannot be easily decarbonised, including road freight, waste trucks, commuter buses and other commercial road transport applications,” it read.
Green hydrogen would be produced and dispensed on-site.
The report revealed the project would meet “renewable energy targets and net-zero greenhouse gas emission targets as it would provide refuelling infrastructure for zero emission heavy vehicles”.
It’s expected the station would be finished by late 2023, with plans for at least 12 hydrogen-fuelled heavy vehicles already on order.
“The project would operate as an unmanned facility open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” the report read.
“Unmanned operation is well established with diesel refuelling, and Viva Energy currently operates a number of unmanned commercial road transport service station sites.”
Safety precautions included a remote monitoring system, fail safe isolation valves, safe venting location, regular maintenance and monitoring and “permissive signals required between the vehicle and refuelling system” before filling up.
Viva chief executive Scott Wyatt told the Geelong Advertiser when the project was announced it would encourage alternative energy solutions.
“This project puts hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road to prove their value in day-to-day commercial operations while reducing the carbon footprint of the heavy vehicle transport we rely on every day,” he said last year.
Plans are available on the council’s website until February 9.
Extracted from Geelong Advertiser