Energys Megawatt Hydrogen Powerhouse Launch

Energys has officially launched its hydrogen power products manufacturing facility in Mulgrave, Victoria. The launch coincided with the completion of Australia’s first and only locally manufactured megawatt-scale Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powerhouse, which was on show at the event.

More than 60 industry and government representatives attended the exclusive event including the Hon. Clare O’Neil, the local Federal Member for Hotham.

The Energys production plant manufactures hydrogen fuel cell Gensets and large megawatt-scale Powerhouse products for customers in Australia and overseas. The facility opens officially with a growing number of confirmed orders and deals under negotiation.

“I am proud to see how far we have come as a company and an industry.” Said Energys Founder, Noel Dunlop

“Energys started more than a decade ago when demand for hydrogen power did not exist. Despite this, we were confident that the day would come when Australia’s hydrogen industry would emerge. For the Energys team, today is the day to demonstrate that the hydrogen economy is real. It is happening right now in this factory. You can see it, and you can touch it.” He said.

The launch is a significant milestone in Australia’s emerging hydrogen economy and stands as a working example of advanced manufacturing, climate policy and hydrogen economy incentives coming together to create sustainable jobs and helps establish Australia as a global leader in renewables.

The Energys Mulgrave facility employs 55 full-time staff and contractors and supports a range of local suppliers. In the next 12 months, the company expects to employ up to 100 Australians. Key skill sets include mechatronics, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, compliance, project management, gas trades, welders and support staff. The Energys “Green Hydrogen Graduate” program offers placements to university graduates, and the company has plans to employ several trade apprentices.

The Hon. Clare O’Neil, Federal Member for Hotham which covers Mulgrave, was on hand to officiate the opening. Ms O’Neil highlighted Labor’s commitment to new job creation as Australia moves towards meeting its 43% renewables by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050 targets.

“I'm the local member of Parliament and I can tell you from the bottom of my heart the sense of enormous pride that I get from coming to companies like this, which are doing world leading innovation and manufacturing.” Said Ms O’Neil.

The Energys Hydrogen Powerhouse is a plug-and-play Hydrogen Fuel Cell Generator configurable to adapt to the client’s power requirements. The Powerhouse is modularised and housed in transportable ISO shipping containers for ease of transportation and installation. The system, including balance of plant, was installed by the Energys Australia team with the support of its Middle East partner Cummins Arabia.

The Energys Hydrogen Powerhouse is designed and manufactured locally in Australia and is the result of more than a decade of research and development with a particular focus on green energy for remote applications in harsh environments such as mining and remote power supply. The parallels between these applications and the Extreme E event made the Powerhouse particularly well suited to the conditions.

After the conclusions of the Extreme E the Energys Powerhouse will be moved to a new location before being redeployed to other applications by ENOWA in the future.

s O’Neil spoke at length during the event about the importance the ongoing community discussion about climate change and how Energys brings solutions and positivity to the table.

“You would notice as an Australian reading about this that there's a lot of doom and gloom in conversation [about climate change]. The people that I love to discuss this topic with are scientists and entrepreneurs and engineers because they are the great optimists in this situation and they see possibility, possibility of solutions. And while there's a lot of talk, there's scientists and engineers and entrepreneurs, important companies like this one, who are actually solving the problem for us.”

After meeting some of the Energys engineering team Ms O’Neil spoke of the importance of the work they do every day.

“To the [team], who I met before, who have been so pivotal to the fuel cell that's sitting out the back there - you know, they are the warriors of this fight and they love what they do. You know, talking to these men who get up every day excited about coming to work, because they can solve one of the biggest challenges of our time.” She said.

“We've got green energy, we've got manufacturing with jobs and skills and we've got a great Australian success story.” She said.

Energys is poised to expand rapidly over the next two years as demand for hydrogen power increases. The company’s recent approval of the Federal Government Modern Manufacturing Initiative Grant will further accelerate this growth. The 50% co-funded arrangement will result in over $10M investment in advanced manufacturing development for renewables at the facility.

“What you see here today is impressive, but it is just the beginning,” said Energys CEO Roger Knight

“Come back here in a couple of years, and you will see multiple advanced manufacturing lines delivering thousands of megawatts of zero-emission hydrogen products every year.” He said.

The products coming off the Energys production line deliver zero-emissions power for various applications, including backup power, off-grid, grid-connected systems, battery-hydrogen hybrid systems, marine propulsion and more. The range of stationary power systems also has an essential role in “grid-firming” as power networks adopt more intermitted renewable inputs.

When paired with green hydrogen produced using renewable energy, Energys products are poised to play a significant role in decarbonising the global energy system. In particular, the company’s stationary power products are uniquely suited to displace diesel Gensets, ubiquitous in telecommunications, mining, data centre backups and stand-alone remote power for regional and remote and industry.

Energys also has mature plans for the construction of a Green Hydrogen production plant which it intends to locate in Melbourne’s South East Suburbs.

The Energys Green Hydrogen production facility is a crucial pillar in the company’s hydrogen adoption strategy. By ensuring the availability of renewable hydrogen, the company can offer customers hydrogen power products and the fuel required to operate them.

The Energys Megawatt Powerhouse Launch is a significant milestone in Australia’s pathway towards a hydrogen economy and a carbon-neutral future. The event showcases their readiness to deliver fully operational hydrogen power products, enabling industry to adopt hydrogen as a fuel source.

The Energys facility is an excellent working example of advanced manufacturing, climate policy and hydrogen economy incentives coming together to create sustainable jobs and help establish Australia as a global leader in renewables.

Images: Oskar Lim, Department of Home Affairs. Ben Durrant.