Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Trial Supports Melbourne Airport Concrete Batching

The trial combines hydrogen power generation with onsite concrete production to reduce diesel use and vehicle movements within Melbourne Airport’s airside environment. Holcim supplies concrete to Fulton Hogan, which is delivering the Taxiway Zulu 2.0 project, a new taxiway network in the airport’s northern precinct supporting future international terminal expansion and runway operations.

Holcim operates a mobile concrete batch plant at the project site. Producing concrete onsite reduces the requirement for concrete agitator trucks to transport material through airport access roads, helping limit traffic and operational disruption in a controlled airside environment.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power System
The mobile batch plant is powered by a stationary hydrogen fuel cell generator supplied through the cooperation with Toyota Motor Corporation Australia. The system uses EODev’s GEH2 generator and can switch between battery and hydrogen fuel cell power according to power demand.

The fuel cell generates electricity through an electrochemical process using hydrogen, providing electrical power without the combustion process associated with conventional diesel generators. According to Holcim, the trial is reducing diesel consumption by more than 150 litres per day compared with a conventionally powered mobile batch plant.

Division of Responsibilities
Holcim is using the system as part of its onsite concrete production and evaluation of alternative power sources for construction operations. Toyota Motor Corporation Australia is supporting the deployment of the hydrogen power technology and providing energy-system expertise.

The cooperation addresses two operational requirements at the project site: maintaining a reliable power supply for concrete batching while reducing dependence on diesel generation. The combination of onsite batching and alternative power also addresses logistics constraints associated with material transport within an active airport environment.

Operational Applications
The approach is being evaluated for infrastructure construction where concrete production must operate close to the work area and where vehicle access is constrained or tightly managed. Potentially relevant applications include airport infrastructure, large civil construction projects and other sites requiring temporary power for mobile processing equipment.

The trial provides an operational basis for assessing hydrogen fuel cell generation alongside conventional power systems, with diesel consumption and equipment operating requirements providing measurable parameters for evaluating the deployment.

Edited by Sucithra Mani, Induportals editor – adapted by AI.

www.holcim.com