Australi’s Automotive Manufacturing Sector Gets New Lease of Life
New Australian New Energy Vehicle Company H2X launched today to bring a massive impact in new high technology jobs to the country and providing a new chapter to Australia’s leadership in the Renewable Economy.
- Independent Australian Vehicle company based in New South Wales.
- Advanced internally developed Hybrid Powertrains leveraging Kinetic Energy through Battery and Ultra Capacitor technology with a strong focus on Hydrogen, making the most of numerous Green Hydrogen Projects launching in Australia to provide long-distance travel and fast refueling.
- Exceptional focus on lightweight and renewable materials in body, chassis, and interior to increase efficiency and also to promote lower resource utilization and lower production emissions.
Given the recent impact on the Australian Economy due to COVID-19, H2X begins an aggressive hiring campaign now with a 5-year growth plan looking towards 5,000 new Australian Jobs directly as production increases and jobs in supporting industries 4 to 5 times that number in an Australian oriented supply chain.
Sydney, Australia, June 12, 2020–H2X is today launched as an Australian owned company which will develop and manufacture a range of vehicles.
H2X is focused on supporting the growth of renewable energy usage in Australia by initially offering products concentrating on vehicle fleets around renewable energy hubs.
The company offers a balance between hydrogen energy and kinetic and externally charged electricity using an advanced hybrid system which can determine the most efficient approach for any given journey.
With a focus on efficiency of the design of the body and chassis and renewable materials inside and out, the goal of H2X is not only to bring to market clean power technologies but also to make vehicles the most efficient, cost-effective and sustainable right from the outset.
“Today we launch our company which not only demonstrates the advanced technology and engineering capabilities of Australia in the clean energy arena but also provides a real clean alternative in terms of transportation,” said Brendan Norman, Chief Executive Officer of H2X.
“With the development of many Green Energy projects in Australia at the moment, we have a unique opportunity to bring a significant manufacturing operation back to the country.”
Norman said the company was focussed on reaching market-leading volumes by 2025. The portfolio will include locally designed and built heavy and industrial vehicles as well as a range of passenger cars.
The core team at H2X has been working for a number of years on hydrogen and alternative vehicles. Some have gained extensive experience working in Asia on Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles and brought their skills and knowledge to H2X. Others had been involved in Powertrain development for a number of major fuel cell power projects for a number of successful vehicles currently in the Asian market. The learnings from the advanced development in these projects will be applied to H2X vehicles but the focus is ultimately on vehicles that are tuned for the challenging environment of Australia.
Chris Reitz, H2X’s Chief Design Officer, says Australia is now becoming a platform for the development of these vehicles to the world.
“H2X is an Australian Company which aims to demonstrate a unique Australian Spirit to the Vehicle Industry. We have a unique character in our vehicles and we are using Australia’s strong resource, educational and innovation strengths to come up with products which are developed to excel in extreme conditions, and like many things Australian they will win themselves into the hearts and minds of many around the world.” Reitz said.
The H2X team is already involved in projects for rail, marine, stationary power, and heavy vehicles which will come to market shortly. This will give significant support to the hydrogen production industry. H2X will partner with Australian and some overseas companies to bring into Australia full production of the core of the vehicles in early stages.
H2X will locate in Regional New South Wales, focused initially in the Illawarra district. From Port Kembla comes not only a significant deep-water transportation hub for the export of vehicles but also a key location as part of a growing network of green hydrogen projects throughout the New South Wales Renewable Energy Zone and beyond for the East Coast of the Country.
“We have projects producing Energy and Hydrogen in Port Bundaberg, Port Kembla, and in Dubbo in the NSW Renewable Energy Zone. Together with H2X and others including ANT Renewables in Victoria, we are establishing clean energy and clean transportation to put Australia on the map as world leaders in terms of a cleaner future,” said Ken Mathews, Managing Director of Denzo PL, Board Advisor and significant investment Partner in H2X.
“What is important for us is we have the ability to supply green hydrogen and the ability to use that hydrogen in Australian Made vehicles, providing a strong platform for the country to build a highly intelligent manufacturing network and do that in a Green environment for Generations of Australians to come.”
The ambition of the company is to create a community of manufacturing in Australia which is dynamic, engaged in leadership in the clean energy power field, and one which has every potential to lead the world. H2X will immediately lend its team skills to work with other Australian companies in the field on many different levels and from the start will launch into exciting activities of development.
The Chairman of H2X is Samuel Blackadder. He is also Managing Director of Elvin Group Renewables, he believes the expertise around the table at H2X will re-invigorate the Australian vehicle manufacturing sector.
“Elvin Group already has a leading position as one of Australia’s most advanced and environmentally progressive concrete production companies in the world. Our footprint into renewable energy generation from investment advanced technologies around Concrete, and in our substantial solar energy operations is boosted by the opportunity to have an Australian vehicle company with the same drive to create a better future,” Mr. Blackadder said.
“Elvin Group has a diverse range of targets from creating the world’s first emissions-free concrete distribution and setting business to launching our own Australian made electrolyzer which will make cost-effective hydrogen later in the year. With H2X we are able to cooperate on the production of this revolutionary product and also work on a number of hydrogen and clean energy powered applications for our Concrete activities creating a world benchmark in an industry that is often considered one of the world’s greatest opportunities for emissions reduction”.
About H2X
H2X is a recently established Australian Company developed to produce Hydrogen-Powered Hybrid vehicles, maximizing the benefits of Battery Electric, Kinetic Energy Capture, and Hydrogen to provide a Clean transportation solution with maximum efficiency.
The company is formed by an exceptionally well-experienced team from the automotive and new energy field, which has been working together over more than 5 years. The core of the team has co-founded and participated in a commercial and passenger vehicle company and has reformed with Australia as a home, taking advantage of the rise of hydrogen as a major new energy source in Australia.
From this base in Australia, H2X Launch will launch several new vehicle lines.
H2X begins with Imported Chassis from 3rd party manufactures to ensure safety and quality, while our powertrain platform developed previously is already operating in vehicles in service in Asia today, giving us an extremely strong product basis as well as one of the most experienced Automotive leadership teams yet assembled in any new energy vehicle line up. From the start, locally manufactured bodies and interior parts will be fitted, with priority on supply localization the mission of the company.
H2X a 5-year plan for a minimum of 80% local content, working with the Universities, TAFE and local unions, industry groups, and companies. With strong support from Principal investors Elvin Group and Denzo PL and positive reactions from a number of industrial partners with a strong interest in vehicle purchases, the company is confident of being in a world-leading position in the hydrogen energy field by 2024 when a full product line-up is realized.
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