A Port Kembla trucking company is looking to lead the world by being the first to run hybrid hydrogen-diesel trucks operating in NSW mines and at the Port Kembla steelworks.
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SCE Group is in trials with an Australian technology company to convert existing trucks to run on a hydrogen-diesel blend, cutting CO2 emissions by between 70 and 85 per cent.
The company is one of a number of potential hydrogen users located in and around Port Kembla that are waiting for a local supplier to step up as the region's demand for hydrogen outpaces supply.
At the SCE Group workshop on Masters Road, workshop manager Matt Kynezos and safety and environment manager Cameron Hall are bent over the inside of an opened-out truck chassis.
The midnight green driver's cab is tilted forward, exposing the vehicle's drive train.
In the near future, Mr Hall hopes, the large diesel tank that sits alongside the engine will be replaced with a hydrogen tank, and the fumes that the truck belches when carrying a heavy load will be eliminated.
"We have been on a journey the past few years exploring potential solutions to accelerate heavy industries' transition towards net-zero that involved engagement with a number of engineers and specialist suppliers in the electric and hydrogen motive power space," Mr Hall said.
About 70 kilometres away, in a lab at the University of New South Wales, a team of researchers have been building an engine that could in future power SCE's trucks in the Illawarra, Hunter and at mine and industrial sites around NSW.
The patented hydrogen-diesel engine reduces CO2 emissions by more than 85 per cent and can be used to retrofit existing heavy vehicles - rather than requiring transport companies to purchase an entirely new fleet of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
When running on green hydrogen, emissions are reduced further, as this removes emissions in the production phase of the fuel.
"We have shown that we can take those existing diesel engines and convert them into cleaner engines that burn hydrogen fuel," lead researcher Professor Shawn Kook said when the research behind the engine was published in October 2022.
"Being able to retrofit diesel engines that are already out there is much quicker than waiting for the development of completely new fuel cell systems that might not be commercially available at a larger scale for at least a decade."
Mr Hall said this kind of technology, converting existing internal combustion engineers to run on hydrogen, rather than replacing them with fuel cells which power an electric drivetrain, made business sense.
"My view is a hydrogen combustion engine offers significant benefits by leveraging diesel engine technology and components," Mr Hall said.
"They do not require rare earth elements and critically, and combustion engines along with powertrain and vehicle technology is already well proven equipment with existing maintenance practices. It is a technology which is cost effective, robust, reliable and well known throughout the industries SCE commonly operate in."
The company is preparing for equipment trials to be run this year and has previously registered its interest as a hydrogen user as part of the NSW government's Hydrogen Hubs initiative.
The company estimated it could consume 30,000 kg of hydrogen per year, with the potential to scale up to 600,000 kilograms in the future.
This puts SCE alongside major potential hydrogen users, such as the Tallawarra B power station and a mooted hydrogen power station backed by Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest's Squadron Energy.
While the NSW government put $28.5 million towards BOC's plans for an electrolyser to produce green hydrogen at its plant in Cringila, the federal government's Hydrogen Headstart program did not shortlist any hydrogen production project in the Illawarra and those projects on the shortlist largely target hydrogen production for export, in the form of green ammonia.
Blue hydrogen, produced from natural gas, is currently produced by CoreGas at its plant inside the Port Kembla steelworks.
Speaking in Port Kembla on Wednesday, energy and climate change minister Chris Bowen said the shortlist of applicants was based on merit.
"Hydrogen Headstart is not a location-based fund," he said. "That was a very competitive process based on merit."
Despite the wrangling between governments and grants, Mr Hall was upbeat about the prospect of sourcing green hydrogen locally and for the company's Port Kembla operations to lead the green trucking revolution.
"The decarbonisation of the trucking and logistics sector is challenging and we look forward to the opportunity to start this process in the Illawarra region."
