I took one look and said, “What in the Mad Max is this thing?”
By Alan Kemp – CEO, QLD Solar & Lighting
Typed with Expo dust still on my boots and a half-warm beer in hand
Just rolled back into Brisbane after the 2025 Sydney Solar & Energy Expo, and I’m still buzzing — and not just from the EMFs.
I went down expecting the usual: sales guys pretending to be engineers, $4000 solar batteries that won’t last past the first footy season, and startups trying to sell you a “blockchain-enabled garden tap.”
But instead, I saw the future of heavy transport.
It was big. It was loud-looking. It was weirdly quiet.
It was shaped like something Elon Musk would dream up after watching The Terminator and drinking three litres of hydrogen-infused kombucha.
And somehow — I was into it.
First Impressions: Snout Energy
So I’m walking along, thinking about getting another coffee when I see this giant rig parked like it owns the place.
Front end on it like a brick sh*thouse.
Looked more like a robot that transforms into a car carrier than something you’d see on the Gateway.
“Look at the snout on this thing,” I said, loud enough for someone in the next aisle to look up.
I meant it as a joke — but also, kinda meant it as a compliment.
Then I saw the sign: Hydrogen Prime Mover. And my eyebrows nearly detached from my head.
The Man Behind the Monolith: Ben Kiddle
Instead, I find Ben Kiddle — the bloke who actually built the thing.
No fluff. No PR team. Just a guy who clearly knows his bolts from his BS.
“Yeah, this is one of my monolithic structures,” he tells me like he’s describing a chicken coop.
I liked him straight away.
Ben’s not trying to change the world — he’s accidentally doing it anyway, and probably still doing his own paperwork.
So What’s the Go? Hydrogen?
Yep. The big twist is, this thing’s got an electric drivetrain, but instead of plugging it into a wall for six hours and praying to the solar gods… it runs off hydrogen.
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Fuel cell turns hydrogen into electricity
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Electricity charges a 127kWh battery
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That powers the motor
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And the 300kW fuel cell keeps charging it as it drives
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Which means you’re never really “empty” — it tops itself up as it goes
“It’s charging itself constantly,” Ben says, as if that’s just a normal Tuesday.
Naturally, I Ask the Dumb Stuff
You know me — I’m not gonna stand next to a spaceship truck and not take the piss.
“So do you chuck water in it and hope for the best?”
Ben laughs. Then politely shuts me down.
“Nah. Hydrogen gas. Not one of those YouTube water converters.”
Fair enough.
“Any crystals hidden in the glovebox to boost acceleration?”
“No crystals in this one, mate.”
He’s patient. Which is impressive, because if I were him, I’d have walked off by now.
Battery Size? Range? Can It Outrun My Triton?
Ben says this one’s got 127kWh of battery, which in truck terms is modest — but the fuel cell keeps it alive the whole time.
Next-gen version’s only gonna have 58kWh, apparently.
I blink. He nods.
“Faster fuel cells. Don’t need as much battery.”
That’s either black magic or serious engineering. Either way, I’m here for it.
As for range?
“500Ks fully loaded.”
Five-hundred kilometres, with a full rig. Not 50km to the shops and back. Not a test loop on a closed course. Real road freight stuff.
It’s Basically a Hybrid — But Cooler
I try to sum it up:
“So it’s like a hybrid car?”
“That’s right.”
“…A Hindenburg hybrid?”
Ben chuckles again. Doesn’t flinch.
“That explosion wasn’t the hydrogen. It was a lightning strike. People forget that.”
Fair enough. Still probably tell the drivers not to power through thunderstorms just in case.
“Yeah, we do.”
Can You Fill It Up at BP?
I ask if you can top up the hydrogen at your local servo.
“Not today. But Germany’s got them. And we’ve got three stations in Australia open to the public.”
Three. That’s two more than I expected, honestly.
He reckons that’ll change. Ten years from now, we might be filling up hydrogen trucks at the same place we get sausage rolls and overpriced Red Bull.
Let’s hope he’s right.
EMFs and Glow-In-The-Dark Concerns
I joke that I can feel a buzz standing next to it.
“Glow in the dark a little,” he says.
“But it’s not as bad as you’d think — it meets European EMF safety standards.”
Then I bring up the deeper stuff — people who are sensitive to EMFs, toxic load, weird allergies from electrical exposure.
He doesn’t scoff. Doesn’t handwave.
“Yeah, we take that seriously. The science is still being figured out, but we follow the standards.”
You know what? That answer impressed me more than the truck.
TL;DR – Alan’s Cheat Sheet
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✅ Hydrogen truck the size of your house
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🔋 Electric drivetrain + 127kWh battery
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🔄 Fuel cell charges it while it drives
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🛣️ 500km range, loaded
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🚌 Hydrogen buses coming too
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🧠 Built by a bloke who doesn’t overthink it
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☠️ Won’t blow up (unless you drive into a lightning storm — which he tells drivers not to do)
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🛢️ Can’t fill up just anywhere yet — but that’ll change
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💡 No crystals, no woo-woo, just solid Aussie know-how
Final Thoughts
Look — I’m not the type to froth over tech.
I’ve sold panels long enough to know most of it’s just marketing with a better logo.
But this?
This was different.
It was impressive without being flashy. Smart without being smug.
And built by a bloke who clearly doesn’t give a toss about being “disruptive” — he just wants stuff to work.
So yeah, I took the piss. But I mean this:
If hydrogen’s got a future in Australia, this truck is already halfway there.