City of Newcastle to trial ASX-listed company's hydrogen fuel cell garbage truck

The lease deal follows a sales agreement with national waste management company Solo Resource Recovery in April to deploy the truck for the City of West Torrens Council in Adelaide, as well as a term sheet executed in August 2023 with the same partner to run a six-month trial with the Tweed Shire Council in northern NSW.

A spokesperson has confirmed the Tweed Shire trial is now complete, with the parties now waiting on final regulatory approval from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) to take the next steps. 

Pure Hydrogen, which has both natural gas projects and various technologically-focused developments and investments around green hydrogen including a substantial share in HFC truck manufacturer H2X Global, highlights the potential for follow-on orders of 25 trucks with JJ's Waste & Recycling, 83 with Solo, and 30 within the City of Newcastle trial just signed.

Pure will receive a refundable deposit of $73,739 and rental payment in the first 12 months of approximately $270,000 from the City of Newcastle, and will charge separately for the hydrogen used.

In addition to its fleet of HFC waste collection vehicles, Pure Hydrogen also has a growing pipeline of trials and purchase orders across its hydrogen vehicle fleet, including the Taurus Prime Mover – part of an ongoing development collaboration with global food & beverage conglomerate PepsiCo.

"We are pleased to announce the latest hydrogen truck leasing agreement and we commend the City of Newcastle for taking this step," says Pure Hydrogen managing director Scott Brown.

"Pure Hydrogen is at the forefront of the emerging hydrogen economy and this partnership further demonstrates our growing presence in the waste management sector in Australia.

"Through partnerships with leading Australian waste management companies and city councils in multiple states, this lease marks the Company’s fifth order for HFC waste collection vehicles in Australia, alongside advanced trials for a hydrogen-powered Prime Mover."

He adds Pure Hydrogen is on track to deliver significant number of vehicles in FY25.

Newcastle's Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes says the trial aligns with a key priority under City of Newcastle’s Environment Strategy.

"We're seeing zero-emissions vehicles emerge as a marker of the best-run cities in the world and this trial is a step forward that Newcastle can and should be proud of," Councillor Nelmes says.

"We’re committed to delivering a 100 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from City of Newcastle vehicles during the next decade and we'll continue driving toward this goal by trialling new technologies that contribute to this transition."

The company adds that as a pioneer in the market for the use of hydrogen fuel cell technology in the heavy vehicle industry, Pure Hydrogen continues to attract interest from Australian participants as well as prospective investors worldwide.

Pure Hydrogen currently has a market capitalisation of $64.5 million, and its shares have risen by close to 80 per cent since mid-May, following an investor conference in London and its subsidiary and subsidiary Turquoise Group confirming it had successfully produced graphene powder and hydrogen as part of testing of its commercial demonstration plant in Brisbane.

Last Friday the company entered a trading halt pending a capital raising announcement, but the raise was called off with Pure Hydrogen announcing two days ago that "it was unable to complete a capital raising on terms proposed by a third party".

After the trading halt was called, a revised deal structure was presented that the board deemed was not in the interests of shareholders.

"While other funding options have been presented to the Company recently, the Board took the decision not to proceed with a transaction that was not in shareholders interests," Brown said at the time. 

"Notwithstanding this, we are well-placed to quickly advance with the development of our first hydrogen hub at Archerfield Airport, secure similar sites, and rapidly scale up the manufacture, sale and delivery of hydrogen powered commercial vehicles through Hdrive International.

"We are growing our sales pipeline rapidly, particularly in the waste management sector, and we are poised to secure more orders for our garbage trucks, mini buses and the Taurus Prime Mover. Pure Hydrogen has exciting opportunities ahead in both the domestic market and new international markets where there is growing demand for our vehicles."