Alternative fuels and the transport industry

You may have noticed the rightful concerns about reducing CO₂ outputs increasing in the world of transport. While electrification has been a major player in evolving solutions, other alternatives are emerging to make driving traditional combustion-engined vehicles cleaner and greener.

One such solution is using transitional fuels like Liquefied natural gas, alternatives like biofuels, and potentially game-changing ideas like using hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, as a source of fuel.

Electrification is not a solution that is considered particularly effective when it comes to heavy vehicles because of the vast distances that trucks need to travel every day, particularly in Australia. Shifting trucks and other road transport to cleaner alternatives has the potential for a major impact on the world’s carbon emissions, but achieving it is no easy feat.

Biodiesel is made using renewable materials, typically waste products such as plants, algae or recycled cooking oil, which can then be blended with diesel for trucks to run on. Synthetic fuel is similar, using carbon captured from the atmosphere and mixing it with hydrogen to create a liquid fuel that’s carbon-neutral.

One major advantage of these alternative fuels is they can be distributed using the same network of pumps and service stations as petrol or diesel. This would be a huge boost for the transport industry as it would allow for a much quicker and more comprehensive roll-out across the country.

The other major option for the transport sector is hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which use compressed hydrogen to generate electricity onboard and produce only water vapour at the exhaust pipe. In theory, this is an ideal solution, as it allows for zero emissions, longer range and faster refuelling than an electric vehicle. Generating the hydrogen and distributing it remains a challenge for the industry.

However, Australia is well-positioned to capitalise on a move towards fuel cell vehicles as we can produce clean hydrogen domestically. The Australian Government is investing $2 billion into the hydrogen industry to try and become a global leader.

Viva Energy recently launched the most ambitious hydrogen mobility project seen in this country with the development of a $43.3 million New Energies Service Station in Geelong, Victoria. The project is expected to be the catalyst for a network of hydrogen refuelling stations that will run from Geelong to Sydney and then Brisbane, supporting long-haul networks.

The new service station, set to open for business later this year, will be Australia’s first publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling station and will offer electric-vehicle regarding alongside its green hydrogen refuelling, bringing together two of the zero-emission technologies that will support the country’s energy transition.

The development is part of Viva Energy’s Geelong Energy Hub, making the city a leader in the adoption of commercial hydrogen-vehicle activity, and supports the future viability of the Geelong Refinery, which already supplies around 50 per cent of Victoria’s fuel needs. The broader Hub project will also include a gas terminal and possibly even a solar energy farm.

Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt said the company was keen to demonstrate the important role hydrogen will play in the future of transport in Australia. “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,” Mr Wyatt said.

Another hydrogen project is underway in Townsville, where, in 2021, Ark Energy and Hyzon Motors have partnered with the Sun Metals mining company for a world-first deployment of five hydrogen-powered prime movers that move resources from the mine to the Townsville port. In the process, the participants estimate it will save up to 1300 tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year.

^Disclaimer

^{Viva Energy Australia Pty Ltd (“Viva Energy”) has compiled the above article for your general information and to use as a general reference. Whilst all reasonable care has been taken by Viva Energy in compiling this article, Viva Energy does not warrant or represent that the information in the article is free from errors or omissions or is suitable for your intended use.}