Page 11 - Climate Control News Magazine March 2021

News
Australia’s first fuel cell manufacturing facility
CONSTRUCTION WILL BEGIN this year on Australia’s first facili- ty to produce the Ned- stack fuel cell, a critical component of the only commercial-ready hydro- gen energy storage sys- tem in the world.
Known as the LAVO System, the hydrogen energy storage system is designed for everyday use and is suitable for both residential homes and businesses.
Preparations for development of the manu- facturing facility are already underway.
Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year with completion by the first quarter of 2022. Production is planned for later in the same year.
The facility is expected to deliver 200 jobs during construction, 50 positions once oper- ational and contribute $30 million to the lo- cal economy.
It is being built in the City of Springfield which is one of the largest master-planned pri- vately constructed cities in Australia, and is lo- cated 28km outside of Brisbane, Queensland.
LAVO, an Australian technology and lifestyle company powered by hydrogen, and Springfield City Group (SCG), the master developer of the Springfield area, signed a Memorandum of Un- derstanding (MoU) last month to deliver inno-
vative and sustainable energy so- lutions to the City of Springfield and surrounding areas.
The federal government has identified the City of Springfield as a nation building project.
More than $18 billion has been invested into the project by pub- lic and private stakeholders with the population of Springfield set to more than double in popula- tion by 2030.
Clean energy is central to
SCG’s vision for Springfield,
which aims to become a net exporter of energy by 2038. LAVO will partner with SCG on initi- atives to deliver on this vision.
This is also Australia’s first fuel cell pro- duction line which will also be produced for local industry.
LAVO and SCG have agreed to work together to identify co-development opportunities in Springfield City, including deployment of LAVO technology across residential, industrial and commercial environments.
This includes integration of LAVO technol- ogy into utility scale solar farms developed by SCG.
Deployment of the LAVO System in Spring- field City is expected to begin in July 2021 as part of the LAVO pilot program.
The pilot program is supported by a co-funding
ABOVE: The only commercial-ready hydrogen energy storage system in the world.
LEFT: LAVO executive director, Alan Yu.
grant awarded to LAVO via the Federal Govern- ment’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) to establish and commercialise local manufacturing capability of the LAVO System.
LAVO executive director, Alan Yu, said the company is working closely with production and manufacturing partners to bring this tech- nology into homes by July 2021.
The City of Springfield is aiming to deliver a net zero energy target by 2038.
LAVO first launched in Australia in Septem- ber 2020 and is driving jobs growth in the ad- vanced manufacturing sector.
Tracking energy use
BUSINESS-ONLY ELECTRICITY RETAILER
Blue NRG has partnered with Australian smart energy innovator carbonTRACK to provide its customers with tools to remotely monitor and control their energy consumption.
As of February 2021, Australian-owned and op- erated energy retailer Blue NRG is offering its business customers access to carbonTRACK’s En- ergy Management System to help them reduce their electricity bills.
The carbonTRACK Energy Management Sys- tem equips businesses to monitor and control their energy use by identifying their unique usage patterns and enabling them to optimise that use.
Blue NRG general manager Duncan Jacklin said the system would provide customers with transparency and control over their en- ergy use.
LEFT: carbonTRACK co-founder
Spiros Livadaras
He said the intelligent energy management platform will let custom- ers remotely monitor, control and automate their energy consump-
tion and consequently reduce their costs. carbonTRACK co-founder and managing director Spiros Livadaras said Blue NRG cus- tomers provided the ideal application for the
company’s system.
“Energy is a major overhead for businesses, so hav-
ing visibility into their energy use and control over how to optimise that use is a great value-add for a business energy retailer like Blue NRG,” he said. ✺
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS MARCH 2021
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