Making fuel at "home"

 

Hydrogen fuel station with its own electrolyser, Canberra, Australia

Wether it be solar panels, batteries, wind turbines, pumped hydro, geothermal power, biofuels or green hydrogen, this renewable energy can be in your own country and some in your own community or home. What this does is reduce the extraction and transport of oil and gas from a few energy rich countries and makes your home/community/country more energy secure and independent.

Renewable electricity supply can now be made at home, can come from microgrids in remote locations, can be portable to natural disaster locations, can be large scale and can be stored thus making a country, community or home independent of imported fuel. An electric vehicle can be powered from a standard power point and a variety of local or remote chargers.

Green hydrogen can be produced from electrolysers which use water (and soon seawater) and renewable electricity. This can be large scale or small scale. Hydrogen can be used in a number of industries from transport fuel, heating and cooking fuel to large industries such as aluminium and steel making. By making its own hydrogen, a country can reduce the importation of fossil fuels.

In the example above, the public hydrogen fuel station makes its own hydrogen on site with a small electrolyser, water and renewable electricity. Canberra sources all its electricity from renewable energy and here it makes its own hydrogen. This reduces the sometimes dangerous transport of petrol, diesel or gas to Canberra. 

Further Reading:  

• Microgrids could help communities weather the next disaster.
• Stand-alone solar and battery systems now seen as the "new normal" in regions.
• Solar, battery and hydrogen microgrid to power Daintree Rainforest
• Sweden could take global lead in green steel production - report
• Australia's Fortescue sets sights on becoming world's first supplier of green iron ore
• Frequently Asked Questions - American Hydrogen Association
• Renewable hydrogen could reduce emissions in alumina refining.
• Northern Territory to trial off-grid system making hydrogen from 'water from air'
• Novel catalyst produces green hydrogen from seawater via solar

Electromotiv expands to supply more zero emission bus/truck powering hubs and bus/truck leases

Charging and Refuelling for Trucks. (Source: Electromotiv)

Electromotiv, based in the Australian Capital Territory, is in the business of supplying fast EV charging and green hydrogen fuel hubs for powering electric and hydrogen fuel cell buses and trucks. They also supply zero emission buses and trucks for lease. They are expanding from an electric bus trial in Canberra to business in Queensland and Auckland, New Zealand. 

In Auckland, Electromotiv have a contract to supply electric buses to Auckland Airport and in Queensland, they go into the final phase of design of a privately owned zero emissions bus hub. 

New Zealand has approximately 80 percent of its electricity coming from renewable sources which is mostly hydro and geothermal. This means the electric buses will be near zero emissions and these emissions will decrease as New Zealand moves towards net zero emissions by 2050. 

Queensland has only about 15 percent renewable electricity now but with the potential for much, much more. Such that Queensland is looking to improve that figure and becoming a green hydrogen producer through its Hydrogen Industry Development Fund. This fund is there to promote jobs in regional areas and to provide green hydrogen for local and export markets. The Queensland Government has also set a state target to reach net zero emissions by 2050. 

Read more: 

- Electromotiv expands team as electric bus plans ramp up. The Driven, June 16, 2020. 

– Electromotiv: https://www.electromotiv.com.au/ 

- New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. New Zealand Government. 

– Transition to a zero carbon economy. Queensland Government. 

See also:

- Queensland unveils “gigawatt” scale green hydrogen plans for Gladstone. RenewEconomy, February 27, 2020. 

– Evie to install ultra-rapid charging stations at Puma Energy truck stops. The Driven, July 16, 2020.

SEA Electric predicts all Australian delivery vans will be electric in 5-10 years

Source: RenewEconomy

SEA Electric based in Dandenong, (Melbourne) Victoria, can adapt the chassis of most small-medium commercial delivery trucks and vans to electric drive. They use an electric power system called SEA-Drive[R] which can be tailor-made to a fleet of commercial trucks or vans. They remove the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) engine and gearbox and associated hardware and replace that with battery powered motor and other components.

SEA Electric has contracts to convert fleets in Australian and overseas with the likes of Ford, Detroit, in the US and with other businesses in California, New Zealand, Thailand, South Africa, Israel, Vietnam and Austria.

The vehicles look the same as the ICE version but most companies label them as electric. The payback time for their investment is approximately 5 years. As with all electric vehicles, the cost per km in electric driving is about a third of that in petrol or diesel; there are far fewer moving parts in ICE vehicles so maintenance is minimal and with regenerative braking there is less stress on the brake pads so they last a lot longer than those in ICE vehicles.

In the podcast, listed below, the founder of SEA Electric predicts that the Australian van and medium truck delivery fleets could all be electric in 5-10 years.

Further information:
- SEA Electric: www.sea-electric.com
- The Driven Podcast: Why all delivery vans are going electric. October 23, 2019.
- First electric Ford F-59 van now in production by Australia’s SEA Electric. The Driven, September 10, 2019.
- SEA reveals its first all-electric cherry picker. The Driven, October 11, 2019.
- First electric waste trucks go into service in Victoria. The Driven, October 4, 2018.
- Melbourne council dumps fossil fuels with first electric tipper truck. The Driven, September 27, 2019.
- SEA Electric unveils new images of electric truck with 350km range. The Driven, August 29, 2019.
- Australia’s first fully electric rubbish trucks clean up in Casey. The Driven, May 24, 2019.
- Transition: “Massive” new EV factory announced for Victoria’s Latrobe Valley. The Driven, October 30, 2018.