Toyota Ecopark Hydrogen Demonstration
- $3.28m Funded by ARENA
- $8m Total project cost
Summary
The Toyota Ecopark Hydrogen Demonstration project will transform part of Toyota Australia’s decommissioned car manufacturing plant in Altona (VIC) into a renewable energy hub to produce renewable hydrogen for both stationary energy and transport energy uses.
The project aims to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of producing, storing, and using hydrogen sourced from renewable powered electrolysis.
Key results
- Successfully commissioned a facility to produce up to 80kg per day of green hydrogen and refuel a range of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) at both 35MPa and 70MPa pressure (currently the most common standard pressures), as well as generating electricity through the use of a fuel cell.
- Since the facility was commissioned in November 2021 it completed 164 refuels and dispensed 364 kg of hydrogen, and is still fully operational so these numbers continue to grow.
- An important objective for the project was to engage and inform stakeholders and the public, and it has achieved that with over 17 engagement events involving almost 1000 visitors.
- Important lessons have been documented including the design and certification of these types of projects in Australia, and the importance of a reliable local support network despite a limited supply chain.
Learn more
Report – Toyota Ecopark Hydrogen Demonstration Public Technical and Financial Feasibility
This report provides a summary of the Ecopark Hydrogen Project and considers the feasibility of production, storage and utilisation of low cost hydrogen for use in mobile and secondary applications.
Presentation – Toyota Australia Fuel Cell Project
This presentation was given by Troy D’Souza the Senior Engagement & Education Specialist at Toyota at the ARENA Insights Forum on 21 November 2019.
Media Release: Hydrogen Gives New Life to Toyota’s Altona Car Manufacturing Plant
ARENA announced funding for Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited to start the transformation of part of its decommissioned car manufacturing plant in Altona Victoria into a renewable energy hub to produce green hydrogen for transport.
How the project works
The Toyota Ecopark Hydrogen Demonstration project is the second of a three phase plan to repurpose the Altona site into a Zero Emission Centre of Excellence.
Phase two includes the following deliverables:
- demonstrate that a combination of on-site solar PV with battery storage and hydrogen production can provide Ecopark with reliable and continual power supply
- demonstrate that green hydrogen can fuel vehicles and supply electricity through the use of a fuel cell
- construction of a “Hydrogen Education Centre” to promote hydrogen innovation and education.
The Ecopark will also demonstrate the ability to fuel passenger vehicles, heavy vehicles and forklifts, and run hydrogen forklifts through warehousing operations in industry. The refuelling infrastructure will also be used as a demonstration site for relevant industry partners.
Area of innovation
As well as being the first known project in Australia seeking to use renewable energy for hydrogen production and use on a single site, a key deliverable will be the construction and operation of an education centre to promote hydrogen innovation and education.
Toyota aims to use the education centre to coordinate research activities that address technology development for the safe and cost effective generation and use of hydrogen. The education centre has been designed to support collaboration between government, technology developers and educators to progress the uptake of renewable hydrogen in Australia.
Benefit
The Toyota EcoPark project aims to drive hydrogen education and awareness in Australia, and demonstrate the feasibility of using multiple sources of renewable energy at a single site.
An innovation centre and a hydrogen refuelling station at the demonstration site may reduce the hurdles facing hydrogen infrastructure deployment and could potentially catalyse future hydrogen vehicle demand in Australia.
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