Green hydrogen for scheme
Toyota NZ and Obayashi Corporation are teaming up to provide green hydrogen refuelling for the Toyota Hydrogen Project Car Share.
The scheme was launched in April and involves the marque partnering with eight Kiwi brands – The Warehouse Group, Air NZ, Saatchi & Saatchi, TVNZ, Beca, Westpac NZ, Spark and Z Energy – to share a fleet of Mirais.
Toyota NZ says it’s further supporting the development of New Zealand’s green-hydrogen industry with a fuel partnership that will see its Mirai fleet in Auckland powered by domestically produced and 100 per cent green hydrogen.
The agreement will see Halcyon Power Ltd, a joint venture between Obayashi Corporation and Tūaropaki Trust, supply the company with green hydrogen produced at the production plant at Mōkai in Waikato.
Chief executive officer, Neeraj Lala, says Toyota was adamant it would only work with a partner that could provide 100 per cent green hydrogen to avoid any requirement for carbon offsetting, and to ensure the fleet operates with net-zero carbon emissions.
“This pilot is crucial in demonstrating the practical and commercial application of hydrogen fuel-cell technology, and provides Toyota NZ with another opportunity to explore environmentally sustainable options for the domestic market,” he says.
Having a carbon-neutral and renewable production energy source for Halcyon through Tūaropaki Power Company’s geothermal power station and hydrogen being a zero-operating emissions transport fuel were integral to Tūaropaki Trust’s involvement in hydrogen.
“Tūaropaki has sustainability as a guiding principle, and the green hydrogen project with the involvement of Obayashi Corporation and its sustainable development goals is a perfect fit,” says chief executive officer Steve Smits-Murray.
“Ultimately, we are looking at a national hydrogen supply chain that includes transportation, site storage and refuelling infrastructure.
“Transport emissions in New Zealand contribute around 25 per cent of our total emissions, so targeting reduction in transport – and, in particular, heavy transport – will make a major contribution to carbon reduction.
“Hydrogen is a solution that is ready to implement now. It’s important we build customer confidence in its reliable, effective supply to grow the industry. Partnerships with companies investing in hydrogen transport technology, such as Toyota, give us an ideal opportunity to do that.”
The power plant at Mōkai is the first megawatt-scale green-hydrogen production facility in New Zealand.
It can make this claim because the source of its electricity is the nearby Tūaropaki Power Station, which generates power from a carbon-neutral fully renewable geothermal resource. This makes it uniquely “green” as New Zealand’s national grid is generally around 80-85 per cent renewable.
