Leading waste and recycling company, JJs Waste has announced it has entered a partnership with Pure Hydrogen to develop what could be Australia’s first hydrogen-fuelled garbage truck.
The companies say the truck will commence trials later this year following the signing of the agreement between JJs and Pure Hydrogen.
Under the agreement Pure Hydrogen will supply a hydrogen fuel cell side-lift RCV truck to the domestic waste collection provider, with the first truck set to be based on the Gold Coast and work across the suburbs of southeast Queensland.
Pure Hydrogen says it will also supply JJ’s Waste and Recycling with green hydrogen made from waste as well as a refuelling service the Pure Hydrogen says is unique to its system.
The two companies say they will undertake a trial program with the first vehicle to determine how effective the partnering arrangement is going forward.
If the trail is successful, it could see JJ’s Waste’s 2,000 trucks potentially being replaced by environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel cell powered electric trucks, that will be quieter, cleaner and will require less maintenance as they reach their use by date.
Pure Hydrogen said it intends to use H2X Global, in which it is acquired a 24 per cent stake, to assist in the assembly of the truck. Both H2X and Pure Hydrogen are backed by the same investment company, Liberty Energy Capital, which is H2X’s primary shareholder and owns a 30 per cent stake in Pure Hydrogen.
Once the hydrogen fuel cell is installed, the company said it will do internal testing before providing the trucks to JJ Waste for the trial.
It has been noted by some industry observers that Pure Hydrogen does not supply ‘green’, renewable hydrogen. The company owns three gas projects, including the Windorah Gas Project in the Cooper Basin, one of Australia’s most prolific onshore petroleum basins. Industry pundits say company’s hydrogen would be coloured somewhere between blue to grey, meaning it is far from zero emissions. Pure actually describes some of its hydrogen quaintly as ‘turquoise’.
As well as being cleaner the hydrogen fuel cell garbage trucks could be and more economical compared to diesel.
“We believe this is the start of a new era for heavy commercial vehicles in Australia which will not only reduce fuel costs but be cleaner and greener for the Australian environment,” said Pure Hydrogen managing director Scott Brown.
“It will also reduce our reliance on imported diesel by replacing it with hydrogen made in Australia, we see the business case as very compelling and we are confident this trial will be a great success.”
However the collaboration between JJs and Pure is not the only Australian p[roject seeking to deploy hydrogen for waste collection.
Last year, Singapore headquartered Hyzon announced its partnership with waste collection equipment maker Superior Pak .
Hyzon and Superior Pak currently have a commercial arrangement to create hydrogen-powered garbage trucks to also be rolled out in Queensland, specifically in Bundaberg on the mid north coast.
