Blue Diamond leads on green power

WA’s Blue Diamond leads green power generation push

Hydrogen generators are a strengthening value proposition for delicate, isolated and zero-emission work sites.

A new partnership between WA-based Blue Diamond Machinery and one of Europe’s foremost renewable technologies companies is set to introduce innovative green power generation solutions to the Australian market, supporting the push by some of the country’s biggest industries to transition towards net zero.

The exclusive national distribution rights agreement between Blue Diamond, one of Australia’s leading independent equipment distributors, and French company Energy Observer Developments (EODev) will see Blue Diamond deliver new electro-hydrogen power generators to Australian industry for the first time.

Silent Hydrogen Fuel Cells

EODev’s GEH2® generator, which uses Toyota’s latest generation hydrogen fuel cell, operates silently and produces no CO2, HC, NOx nor fine particles emissions. Instead, the system emits only hot water and filtered air.

As a scalable solution capable of connecting with diesel or gas generators or the grid, the new breed of generators are expected to hold considerable appeal for the construction and mining industries – offering an immediate way to begin reducing emissions on sites while allowing operations to continue.

Blue Diamond Director Justin Pitts said the partnership with EODev, which commenced in November 2021, resulted from the company’s quest to discover power generation solutions that decreased CO2 emissions and supported its commitment to green technology.

“We started discussions with EODev in September last year, and from that point we pushed very hard to be their distributor in Australia,” he said.

“We have been actively looking for emission-free power solutions suited to the construction and mining markets for the past three to four years, and when we found the GEH2® we knew how unique it was and how perfectly suited it is for our customer base in Australia.

“Whilst there are plenty of renewable power solutions available for large-scale power plants there are not many for the construction market or for some mine sites, which require equipment that is smaller, more portable and quickly deployable. The initial discussions we have been having with mining and construction companies around this new generator have really made it clear how strong the demand is for this kind of product.”

Justin said the company has placed an initial order of three units, which were expected to arrive in Australian by mid-2022, with Blue Diamond now in discussion with key

clients to commence GEH2® pilots next year.

The GEH2® enables Blue Diamond to integrate hydrogen power in all industrial settings, as a back-up solution for delicate settings like airports, data centres and hospitals, or as the primary source on isolated sites like mine sites or scientific bases.

The power generator can also be used as a supplementary power base at construction sites, concerts and sporting events, or to access zeroemission zones.

Blue Diamond provides power solutions to some of the biggest players in mining including FMG, Northern Star and Rio Tinto, with its current client roster also including construction giant Multiplex and leading equipment supplier Kennards Hire.

While the initial outlay on a hydrogen power generator was considerably higher than that of a traditional diesel unit — up to four or five times more — Justin said detailed modelling showing reduced running costs means the hydrogen generators will save money for many customers over the longer term.

“As EODev gets more scale in production, the cost of the unit is inevitably going to come down, and at the same time so will the cost of hydrogen. So over time the value proposition will get stronger and stronger,” he said.

Recent announcements by the Western Australian and Queensland state governments on the planned Hydrogen Park (HyP Gladstone) and H2Perth hydrogen production facilities in Gladstone and Kwinana added further impetus to the investment.

Blue Diamond wants to be a leader in the space, providing zero-emission equipment to support customers making the transition to net zero by 2050.

“We believe our role is to make the most advanced emission-free equipment readily available to our customers who have strong sustainability and environmental program commitments. As such, we are heavily investing in alternative power solutions to the traditional diesel offerings,” said Justin.

“We genuinely want to play our part in the energy transition, but we also believe over time it will also make good business sense to have a strong emissionfree offer.

“The best way we can do this as a company is to make new technology like this more widely available, and we are also looking at a range of other emissionfree products that will complement the GEH2® with plans to launch them over the next few months.”

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Blue Diamond Machinery directors, Brad (L) and Justin Pitts;

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Operations continue while hydrogen generators reduce emissions.

For further information, please contact: Justin Pitts, Director, 0411 026 145.