Bores on remote Australian stations are powered in many ways: old windmills, diesel engines and generators, and electric submersible pumps where a supply is available. Each bore feeds a tank and a trough, and station hands spend long days running checks. A bore that fails in the heat of summer can leave stock without water within a day, so reliability is the whole game. Diesel bores need fuel carted to every site, which is costly across great distances.
A hydrogen system at a bore site would make its own hydrogen from a wind turbine, store it at 30 bar or less for weeks, and run the bore pump through calm spells via the fuel cell and battery. Submersible bore pumps sized for stock water often sit within 15 kW continuous. The system needs filtered, de-ionised water to make hydrogen, about 9 litres per kg, and a bore can supply that with filtering.
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Putting a full hydrogen system at every bore is a big investment, and for a single small bore a windmill or a simpler pump setup may make more sense. Deep, high-volume bores with large pumps may exceed 15 kW and need a larger setup or a different supply. Round-trip efficiency is 30% or less, so wind resource at the site matters. The pilot would look at which bores, if any, suit this approach, and say so plainly when they do not.
Often not. A windmill or simpler setup may make more sense for a small stock bore. Hydrogen suits sites where the pump is bigger, the supply must be very reliable, or several loads share one system.
Yes. Telemetry units are tiny loads. Keeping them powered means you can check tanks remotely and avoid unnecessary bore runs, which matters across long distances. Fewer wasted trips to check a full tank also means fewer hours on station roads in the heat.
Free-flowing artesian bores do not need pumping. For pumped bores, suitability depends on pump size, depth and wind resource at the site, which a pilot would assess individually. Some will suit it, many will be better served by a windmill or a simpler pump.
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