Pure Hydrogen investee H2X gears up for a big 2023

Clean energy focused Pure Hydrogen’s (ASX: PH2) investee H2X Global has a big 2023 ahead – targeting the delivery of hydrogen fuel cell trucks to its European customers, and kicking-off manufacturing in India with its joint venture partner, Advik Hi-Tech.

Pure Hydrogen owns 23% of the Australian vehicle manufacturer H2X.

H2X recently inked a memorandum of understanding with Norwegian Hydrogen to collaborate on the commercial supply of hydrogen and the range of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

This new venture will see a joint commercial and operational framework developed for fleet operators located near Norwegian Hydrogen’s sites in the Nordic region, for the transition to hydrogen as the zero-emissions solution in the future.

The partners expect to offer all components for climate-friendly commercial transport through a single channel, such as the production and purchase of green hydrogen, distribution and hydrogen refuelling stations, as well as provide customers with the supply and after sales of vehicles.

Norwegian Hydrogen is a production, distribution and refuelling company and has established a pilot plant at Hellesylt, with a production capacity of 1.4 tonnes per day which, if used to reduce emissions in the transportation sector, would remove more than 9,000t of carbon dioxide every year.

According to Norwegian Hydrogen, this would provide more than 9 million kilometres of emission-free heavy road transport per year.

H2X head of sales and marketing Bill Moss said the company’s collaboration with Norwegian Hydrogen is “crucial” in the reduction of zero emissions as it offers a good alternative to fleet owners.

“The transition to net-zero carbon transport through hydrogen is vital to help eliminate the growing emissions from the transport sector. This sector accounts for 23% of global energy-related carbon emissions and is the fastest-growing contributor to climate change,” he said.

Norwegian Hydrogen also has a partnership with US-based company FirstElement Fuel and Japan’s Mitsui to build a Nordic-wide network of hydrogen refuelling stations and the deal with H2X is expected to help accelerate the success of this roll-out.

“We hope to announce the first trucks and refuelling stations ordered on the basis of this partnership very soon,” Norwegian Hydrogen managing director for refuelling Per Øyvind Voie said.

Hydrogen-fuelled trucks to be delivered to Sweden

This latest partnership follows H2X’s deal with municipal waste company Renova AB for the supply of hydrogen-fuelled commercial trucks in Gothenburg, Sweden, which saw it win a competitive tender for a contract worth up to 70 million SEK.

“This is an extremely important step forward for H2X,” Pure Hydrogen managing director Scott Brown said. “It shows there is a proven market demand for H2X’s industry-leading technology, which stands above other suppliers in a highly competitive tender process.”

Last month, H2X announced Renova made a payment of approximately $2 million to mark the first phase in delivering the vehicles to the Swedish city. The contract is for two 18t garbage back loader trucks, two 5t Warrego pick-ups and one 3.5t tail lift light commercial truck (plus plans for a second).

Renova’s deal with H2X aligns with Gothenburg’s commitment to reach Sweden’s target of cutting emissions by 70% by 2030 (compared to 2010) and reaching net zero emissions before 2045.

The 3.5t and 5t trucks have been designed to provide operators with a range of up to 500km and a load capacity of between 800-2,000kg depending on the vehicle and specifications.

H2X has confirmed its plan for all vehicles under the Renova deal to be fully operational by 2025 with the first truck scheduled for delivery in December 2023.

H2X head of northern Europe Peter Westh said the company’s new vehicle offering has been developed to “perfectly meet the needs of the Scandinavian and European market in zero-emission commercial vehicles following the latest directives in Sweden for the needed energy transition together with European projects related to carbon-free mobility solutions”.

The deal positions H2X as the first Swedish manufacturer of hydrogen commercial vehicles and is the first of many similar agreements in the region.

H2X to be production in Indian with Advik

H2X also recently announced a joint venture agreement with Indian manufacturing and development company Advik for the assembly of certain parts and vehicles for the Indian and global markets.

This partnership effectively expands the company’s footprint from its Australian base and its operations in Europe and Asia (Malaysia and Vietnam).

H2X founder and chief executive officer Brendan Norman said the first products from the new joint

“Already the demand for hydrogen and non-fossil fuel-based vehicles and support products is exceeding . We aim to fill that gap,” Mr Norman said.

The Advik-H2X collaboration will also undertake the application of methanol fuel cells in a bid to provide another clean alternative to hydrogen in certain products and ensure “full capacity utilisation of the fuel cell division”, H2X stated.

Mr Norman says the first products from the joint venture company will roll off the production line in the second half of 2023.

Amazon Web Services Backs H2X

In addition to its joint ventures, H2X has been selected as one of 15 start-up businesses participating in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Clean Energy Accelerator 3.0.

As one of the largest shareholders in H2X, Pure Hydrogen is pleased with what the company has achieved – saying its revolutionary hydrogen fuel cell and power train stands above other companies in a highly competitive application process.

The AWS program is focused on fostering innovation and rapid growth of clean energy technology, which is needed to address the global climate challenge.

The Clean Energy Accelerator 3.0 will culminate with the Innovation Showcase at the United Nation’s COP 28 in November 2023, Dubai.

This places H2X in a prime position to demonstrate its “ground-breaking hydrogen vehicles” to world leaders.