Remote Telecommunications Towers Powered by 10kW Hydrogen Generators – pv magazine International

July 5, 2024 Eva Foley

From pv magazine Australia

Hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer Energys Australia has installed one of its 10-kilowatt renewable hydrogen generators at Neerim North, 120km east of Melbourne, as part of a $1.1 million ($740,000) pilot project with Telstra.

The generator is installed on a Telstra mobile tower and is equipped with enough renewable hydrogen to provide at least 72 hours of operating capacity if the tower is shut down. Energys Australia said it currently sources hydrogen for its generators from an undisclosed location in Victoria.

Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, said the Victoria Gas Substitution Roadmap acknowledges that renewable hydrogen will play a key, targeted role in the energy transition by strengthening energy resilience.

Vicki Romanovski, managing director of Telstra’s Integrated Network, Facilities and Environment business, said the Telstra network and other infrastructure were vulnerable to extreme weather events.

“Renewable hydrogen is an alternative energy option that can help our customers stay connected. This pilot will help us define its future role in this space,” Romanovski said.

The hydrogen fuel cells used in the Telstra pilot project were manufactured by Energys Australia at their plant in Mulgrave, Victoria. Hydrogen fuel cells will also be installed in Coldstream, Kinglake, Christmas Hills and Chum Creek, which have been affected by severe storms.

The pilot project was funded by the Renewable Hydrogen Commercialisation Pathways Fund to the tune of AUD 6.6 million.

Energys has also received AUD1 million from the Commercialisation Pathways Fund to support the establishment of the Energys Renewable Hydrogen Production facility, which will produce renewable hydrogen through electrolysis for use in transport and applications requiring an alternative to diesel fuel.

Popular content

The estimated final cost of the facility is AUD 3.3 million. Construction is set to begin in Melbourne and will include a 1 MW electrolyser with compression and storage capabilities, as well as dispensing equipment for pipe trailers or trucks carrying hydrogen gas, and for passenger backpacks or industrial-grade hydrogen cylinders.

New York-based hydrogen company Plug Power is listed as a supporter of Energy’s Renewable Hydrogen Production Facility. It is also currently working in Australia with Allied Green Ammonia on a 3 GW electrolyser project in the Northern Territory and is supplying two 5 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser systems to green hydrogen projects in Tasmania.

According to CSIRO’s Energys Australia manufacturing facility outline, renewable energy for their electrolyser will be sourced from the grid primarily during periods of low demand/low prices, reducing the cost of hydrogen production and contributing to grid stability.

Operations are planned to start in 2024, once key hydrogen components have been ordered and talks with potential customers have begun.