World's cleanest garbage truck to start trials in Illawarra this year

The company, which is contracted by the city councils in Wollongong and Shellharbour to collect garbage, announced in Melbourne on Wednesday that it would be trialling its first hydrogen truck.

Developed by Hyzon Motors in Australia and made available to Remondis, the truck's fuel cell electric engine relies on hydrogen funnelled from specially made tanks, which combines with air to generate electricity that powers the truck.

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The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) technology only results in water vapour emissions.

The waste company called this a "watershed moment".

Remondis South Coast regional manager Chris Wade said the goal was to have the zero-emission truck match the capabilities of same-sized diesel-powered trucks.

"Efficiency is critical when it comes to waste collection, so we'll be paying close attention to how the truck performs compared to our diesel trucks," Mr Wade said.

Mr Wade added that refuelling will be conducted at the Coregas facility at Port Kembla and is expected to take about 20 minutes.

Remondis said it would be the first time such a truck had been used under commercial conditions in Australia.

Hyzon said its heavy-duty garbage truck had been designed against the industry benchmark of a 200km range and 1500 bin lifts per working day.