Page 16 - Food&Drink magazine July 2021

ENVIRONMENT MATTERS
Hydrogen powered wine
Duxton Vineyards Group has partnered with Lavo Hydrogen Technology Limited to develop hydrogen-storage solutions to create a negative carbon winery. Kim Berry writes.
16 | Food&Drink business | July 2021 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au
The Lavo team with CEO Alan Yu seated, in the middle.
THE large scale, vertically integrated wine business Duxton Vineyards Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with hydrogen specialist company Lavo to look at how hydrogen storage solutions can be used in commercial applications.
Lavo CEO Alan Yu says reliable, affordable and sustainable power generation and supply is one of the biggest challenges facing governments, businesses and individuals today.
The company was launched in Australia in September last year, and according to Yu is the first and only commercially ready hydrogen energy storage system in the world designed for everyday use both domestically and by businesses.
“The system is designed to be easily integrated with existing solar panel infrastructure, with the company exploring further applications for its patented metal hydride solution,” Yu says.
The company was established to fast track the commercialisation of technology developed within the Hydrogen Energy Research Centre, which was cofounded by Providence Asset Group and the University of New South Wales.
Duxton Vineyards Group launched in 2015, with 2400 hectares of vineyards in the Mildura and Sunraysia region
of New South Wales. It supplies domestic and global large-scale wine businesses as bulk and bottled wine through a mix of long term and spot contracts, as well as producing its own branded product.
Duxton has a sustainability focus at the core of its business, using regenerative farming practices to improve soil health and improve biodiversity.
Chair of the Duxton Group Edouard Peter says that increasing soil carbon content is a key goal for the company. “Healthy soils are critical for the vines to be resilient to our harsh climate. Our organic inputs include compost and biological stimulant microbes. We also cover crops and minimise till farming,” he says.
Duxton Vineyards Group is based in the Mildura region of New South Wales.