Home / Uses / When the town's petrol station has no power

Full tanks underground, nothing coming out of the nozzle

After big outages, rural towns have watched queues form at petrol stations that had fuel but no power to pump it. This page looks at that problem, and the strict rules around solving it.

Pumps are not the big load

Fuel dispensers, the submersible pumps in the tanks, the forecourt console and the payment system are not large loads by themselves, and together they often sit within 15 kW. The problem in an outage is not size, it is that nobody can run them. Generators, farm machinery, emergency vehicles and residents all need fuel just when the station cannot supply it.

What it would keep running

Fuel dispensers and tank pumps
Forecourt console and payment
Shop fridges and pie warmer
Canopy and shop lighting
Tank monitoring system

Hazardous areas first

Forecourts are classified hazardous areas, and any electrical equipment near them must follow strict rules. The system is designed to AS/NZS 60079, the standard for explosive atmospheres, but its siting, its connection to the forecourt circuits and the fuel company's own requirements would all be decided with a qualified installer and the fuel supplier.

Hydrogen storage itself would sit well clear of the forecourt and the underground tank vents. Nothing about it would be fitted without the fuel company agreeing, and the pilot would treat that agreement as the starting point rather than the last box to tick.

How it works →

The H2OME loop: an electrolyser splits water into hydrogen, the hydrogen is stored in a tank for weeks, a fuel cell turns it into electricity for your home, and the water returns to the loop.

The shop and the community role

Beyond pumps, the station's shop runs fridges, a pie warmer, coffee and lights. In a long outage it can become a supply point for the whole district. Hydrogen stored at 30 bar or less keeps for weeks, ready for the next storm. Round trip efficiency is 30% or less, so this costs more per unit than grid power and earns its keep in outages.

Questions

Is it safe near petrol?

It is designed to AS/NZS 60079 and ISO 19880, with redundant leak sensors and automatic venting. But that does not decide siting by itself. Placement near a forecourt would follow hazardous area rules and the fuel supplier's requirements.

Could it keep the whole town fuelled?

It could keep pumps running, which is the main thing. How long the station can supply depends on the fuel in its tanks, not the power. Planning with emergency services about who gets fuel first would be the station's call.

Who would need to approve it?

The station owner, the fuel supplier, a certified hazardous area installer and any local authority with a say. The pilot would not proceed without all of them on board and agreeing on the design.

Elsewhere

Every use →

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