Ark Energy H2, Korea Zinc's subsidiary, gets Australian funding for hydrogen project

Ark Energy H2 unit, a clean energy company that is subsidiary of the South Korean company Zinc, and based in Australia won US $16 million (A$21 million) funding from both the Australian government and Queensland state to work on producing green hydrogen for fuel cell trucks.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) said in a statement that the company  will use the grant for a 1 megawatt electrolyser with storage and refuelling infrastructure to fuel five new 140 tonne rated fuel cell electric trucks.

The electrolyser will be powered by the 124 MW solar farm based at  Ark’s sister company Sun Metals Corporation (SMC). 

"Ark's first-of-a-kind deployment is a great opportunity to highlight the potential of ultra-heavy fuel cell electric trucks in Australia," ARENA CEO Darren Miller said in the statement.

Heavy vehicles currently make up approximately 4 percent of road vehicles in Australia; however, they account for around 23 percent of all road transport fuel consumed in Australia. 

“Replacing diesel vehicles with renewable hydrogen alternatives is viewed as a key opportunity for early uptake of commercially viable hydrogen due to the relatively high cost of diesel as the incumbent fuel,” ARENA said in the statement.