Australian-first hydrogen energy facility set to be part of Springfield City’s green vision

Planning is underway to build a $20 million cutting-edge hydrogen fuel-cell production plant in Springfield City, which is expected to generate $30m annual revenue to the local economy.

Springfield City Group (SCG) – the developers of the fast-growing master-planned community on Brisbane’s doorstep – last month announced work could begin on the facility towards the end of the year, creating 200 jobs.

SCG Chairman Maha Sinnathamby said land had been set aside in Springfield City’s 40-hectare Vicinity business park for the plant, which was due to be completed in early 2022, with production planned to start later that year – generating another 50 new jobs and apprenticeships.

Mr Sinnathamby said the Australian-first facility was a crucial target of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with Australian technology and LAVO.

“I am pleased to welcome LAVO as a strategic sustainability partner to Springfield City and look forward to their support as we work towards producing more energy than we consume by 2038,” Mr Sinnathamby said.

“LAVO has the first and only commercial-ready hydrogen energy storage system in the world designed for everyday use by residential homes and businesses.

“As our relationship grows, we look forward to exploring many more opportunities to apply LAVO’s innovative technology and expertise more broadly to deliver on our blueprint for a clean-green future.

“We will work closely with LAVO to identify co-development opportunities, including the integration of LAVO technology into utility scale solar farms developed in Springfield City.”

The demand for hydrogen technology is booming globally, with investment forecast to increase from US$150 billion annually to more than US$2.5 trillion by 2050.

LAVO’s technology has a storage capacity three times greater and a lifetime more than two times longer compared to market alternatives.

On the MoU with SCG, LAVO CEO, Alan Yu said the Sydney-based company “would be hard pressed to find a team whose values align more perfectly with our own”.

“We are very excited to be working with SCG and helping deliver on its vision of a city that leads in innovation, design, entrepreneurship and sustainability,” he said.

“This MoU demonstrates the immense potential of the LAVO System, and we look forward to the exciting collaborations that we will undertake alongside SCG”.

“We continue to work closely with our production and manufacturing partners to bring Australia’ s first hydrogen fuel cell production line to Springfield City, as well continuing to develop the training program to train and upskill the future local workforce.”

Mr Sinnathamby said the focus on efficient and sustainable energy production, storage, and integration with the community had never been more important for Australia, and Springfield City, where the population of 46,000 was expected to triple over the next two decades.

“We have one chance – and the responsibility to our residents both now and into the future – to get this right and be an ongoing exemplar for others to follow,” he said.

Under its eco-friendly strategy, at least a third of Springfield City will be set aside as “green space” and residents would have widespread access to electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and a hydrogen bus network and see 100% of their power delivered through renewable sources.