The hydrogen refuelling station will be built at the BP Truckstop in the riverside Brisbane suburb of Lytton.

It will be able to refill a hydrogen car in three to five minutes and will in future be made available to drivers with a BP plus card who register with BP for access to the supply of hydrogen.

The news follows Viva Energy (which retails products including Shell) announcing it would build a dedicated $51.4 million hydrogen fuel station in Geelong with funding from Viva, the federal government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

This new refuelling facility is aimed at supplying heavy commercial fleets from companies in the Geelong area and will also include 150kW chargers for electric cars.

The funding will also subsidise the purchase and maintenance of 15 hydrogen trucks and buses for Toll Group, Cleanaway, Barwon Water and ComfortDelGro Corporation.

BP’s station in Lytton will be the first service station in Australia with hydrogen refuelling capability and fuel the Queensland Government’s current fleet of five hydrogen-powered Hyundai NEXOs.

BOC, part of Linde, will supply and install the Linde hydrogen refuelling station. It will dispense green hydrogen produced by BOC at its Bulwer Island production site, only 10 minutes from the Lytton station.

The company said the green hydrogen will be produced by a 220kW electrolyser powered by solar energy generated onsite.

Linde has installed more than 200 hydrogen refuelling stations globally and successfully completed the hydrogen refuelling of over 1.5 million cars, buses and forklifts. 

BOC South Pacific managing director John Evans said the partnership with BP Australia was an important step forward in developing a hydrogen refuelling service station network in Queensland.

“BOC is committed to supporting the development of hydrogen as a zero emissions fuel and decarbonising the transport sector in Australia,” said Mr Evans. 

“Working closely with our partner bp we will demonstrate how state-of-the-art hydrogen refuelling stations can be safely integrated into the existing service station network, paving the way for more infrastructure to facilitate hydrogen trucks and buses. 

“We look forward to opening this facility to the public in the future, and working with our project partners ARENA, the Queensland Government and BP to showcase a world class end-to-end green hydrogen production, storage, supply and refuelling solution.” 

BP Australia and SVP fuels & low carbon solutions, Asia Pacific, president Frederic Baudry said: “BP is proud to be partnering with BOC and the Queensland Government in the development of Australia’s first green hydrogen refueler on an existing service station.

“Hydrogen will play an important part in the future energy and mobility mix, and partnerships – such as this one between Government, BOC and BP – will be essential in decarbonizing industry and transport. BP has extensive industrial experience with hydrogen and is now linking that with our expertise in supplying energy to the world, creating end-to-end offers and decarbonisation solutions for our customers.”

BP, a member of the Australian Hydrogen Council and the Global Hydrogen Council, has about 1400 branded retail fuel sites in Australia of which about 350 are ‎company-owned while more than 1000 are owned and operated by BP’s independent business partners.‎

Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick De Brenni said it was critical that locally-made fuel continued to be available to power our heavy transport sector as it moved to lower its emissions and looked forward to supporting more green hydrogen initiatives from traditional fuel suppliers.

“The importance of this for our economic future cannot be overstated because this is another link in the supply chain, ensuring Queensland cements its status as a global force in the hydrogen industry,” said Minister de Brenni.

“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.”

By Neil Dowling