Hydrogen vehicle start up, Hyzon Motors has announced it has done a deal with Victoria’s RACV to establish its Australian headquarters in Melbourne as well as supplying the major Auto Club with an order for hydrogen powered trucks as part of the RACV’s tow fleet.
Under the agreement, Hyzon Motors said that in conjunction with the RACV it will develop a purpose-built facility including corporate offices, showroom, assembly, warehousing and workshop at the RACV’s facility in the Melbourne suburb of Noble Park. The two organisations say the development is expected to generate more than 100 localised engineering and manufacturing jobs by 2025, and they claim hundreds more ‘indirect jobs expected through the supply chain’.
The order for Hyzon’s hydrogen powered trucks will see the RACV subsidiary, Nationwide Group become the first towing company in Australia to use hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and they say they will be trialed by Nationwide Group when they arrive some time late this year .
Hyzon Motors says it is expecting to deliver three locally manufactured Hyzon HyMax TT7 tilt-tray trucks and one of its fully imported HyMax prime movers, to the Nationwide Group.
Managing Director for Hyzon Motors in Australia and New Zealand, John Edgley, said the announcement was exciting news not just for the local economy, but for Australia’s energy transition aspirations and the manufacturing jobs of the future.
“We are focused on generating new jobs, new manufacturing and technology facilities, and a fundamentally new industry in Australia and New Zealand, that will underpin a sustainable future for the region,” Edgley said.
“With governments across Australia and New Zealand shifting their focus towards hydrogen as a cost-competitive and zero-emission fuel source, Hyzon stands ready to support and partner on key projects and initiatives.
“Hyzon has already hit the ground running in the region, with scheduled 2022 deliveries including coaches to Fortescue Metals in Western Australia, Prime movers to Coregas in NSW and TR Group in New Zealand, Road train prime movers to Ark Energy in Queensland and the HyMax GSL garbage trucks with Superior Pak across the region.
“The opportunity to partner and work with the RACV, a trusted brand, across the home, motoring, mobility, energy and leisure sectors is an exciting prospect for our business,” Edgley said.
RACV Chief Executive Officer, Neil Taylor, said the partnership with Hyzon aligned with the RACV’s objective to support a cleaner energy future.
“RACV is a strong supporter of the transition to a cleaner energy future. We have a purchase power agreement with Snowy Hydro which covers all our company owned sites in Victoria, are a major and fast-growing player in the Solar Installation Market via RACV Solar and have other investments in Cleaner Energy such as Chargefox, Restart EV and have installed Solar Power at all RACV Victorian Resorts,” Taylor said.
“We see building a bigger portfolio of Cleaner Energy assets and businesses as a strong part of RACV’s future, both within Victoria and across Australia.
“Our partnership with Hyzon is the first of its kind in Victoria and will generate new local jobs and contribute significantly to a cleaner energy future over many years to come.
Nationwide Group chief executive officer, Michael Stephenson, said the business was excited to be exploring how hydrogen can play a part in the future of road transport in Australia.
“Nationwide is keen to assess the performance of these vehicles in a real-world test for towing and transport and is thrilled to be part of this new industry leading partnership,” Stephenson said.
