Hydrogen to help lower emissions

Hydrogen could play a key role in reducing emissions from heavy trucks using the country’s major transport hubs, Refining NZ chief executive Mike Fuge says.

Hydrogen is challenging to store and transport, says Fuge. Establishing a national distribution network would be difficult, just as it would be for heavy electric trucks.

But he says there is an opportunity to use hydrogen at transport hubs around the country, like at Northport - the refinery’s neighbour at Marsden Point - which has fleets of very heavy trucks travelling to and from it daily.

“There’s an opportunity, with the right sort of assistance, to turn those trucks to hydrogen."

The Marsden Point oil refinery is the country’s biggest maker of pure hydrogen and has just completed a major upgrade of that capacity. Refining NZ has spent several months working on a new long-term strategy which it plans to lay out mid-year.

Many New Zealand firms are assessing the use of hydrogen

Ports of Auckland has hired global energy consultancy Arup for a hydrogen pilot to test its suitability as a fuel for its straddle carriers and tugs.

Hiringa Energy is working with TIL Logistics to test its potential in trucking and warehousing, while Pouakai NZ last year sought a loan of up to $20 million from the Provincial Growth Fund to test the feasibility of a combined power, hydrogen and fertiliser plant in Taranaki.

Earlier this month, Concept Consulting said hydrogen could be a good fit for return-to-base trucking operations, or for never-leave-base applications like forklifts and port cranes. However, Concept Consulting says the high cost of public infrastructure also makes hydrogen problematic as fuel for long-distance trucking.