As part of an upcoming six-month trial, two 200 tonne quad road trains will be modified with hydrogen dual-fuel technology.
Fenix Resources’ Australian haulage fleet, operated by Newhaul, will trial hydrogen dual-fuel technology from September 2025.
As part of the project agreement, New Zealand’s HW Richardson Group (HWR) will provide the technology via its subsidiary Ch2nge Fuel Technologies, while Warradarge Energy will deliver green hydrogen from its 26MW facility in Eneabba, Western Australia.
If the trial is successful, up to 70 of Newhaul’s Volvo FH16 prime movers will integrate HWR’s technology, which the company has said could reduce diesel consumption by up to 12 million litres annually across its Mid-West operations.
HWR claims the dual-fuel hydrogen technology has already shown a 40-70 per cent diesel reduction in commercial operations in New Zealand by using a hydrogen and diesel fuel mix.
Data generated from the trial will confirm the hydrogen consumption and diesel displacement rate of the technology.
Newhaul also operates a fleet of 200 tonne quad road trains transporting iron ore over 500km from Fenix’s Mid-West mines to Geraldton Port.
Stephen Archer, CEO of Warradarge Energy, says the company aims to supply low-cost green hydrogen to the local market in the coming years.
The company is developing an integrated green hydrogen production powered by wind energy in the Mid-West region. Warradarge will leverage behind-the-metre access to up to 32MW of clean electricity from its 180MW wind farm.
The initial phase will begin with a 26MW hydrogen production facility designed to provide hydrogen to the transport sector. Future stages include scaling up to 198MW and industrial-scale production for green steel.