The "world-first" hydrogen energy storage system built in the Hunter would cost homeowners $30,000 if they tried to buy one today, but the company behind the technology hopes costs come down before it goes into commercial production.
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That eye-catching price tag does not include the cost of installing solar panels on your roof, if you don't already have them.
But executives from LAVO said during a briefing at Tomago engineering firm Varley on Friday that their $65 million in orders from all over the world suggested many domestic consumers were ready to pay that much to store their solar energy.
The company says the units, which are not yet approved for domestic use in any Australian state, can power a typical house for about two-and-a-half days when the sun doesn't shine.
The HESS splits filtered water into hydrogen and oxygen using solar energy, stores the hydrogen in metal hydride tanks then converts the hydrogen into electricity via a fuel cell.
"Safety is paramount when you're dealing with hydrogen," LAVO chief operating officer Jacques Markgraaf said. "It's very complex to deal with it; it's very costly to handle.
"So through the University of NSW [which developed the metal hydride technology] and through this innovation they've managed to overcome a number of those issues relating to hydrogen."
The "hybrid" system also has a lithium iron battery on board to provide quick power when needed.
LAVO says the system has advantages over stand-alone lithium ion batteries such as Tesla's Powerwall, including a longer lifespan of 30 years.
The price tag may look steep, but Australia already has the biggest take-up of domestic solar in the world, at about 30 per cent of homes.