Govt backs new Hydrogen Association as boost for alternative energy, and exports

Thursday, 27 September 2018

Dr Linda Wright, chief executive, New Zealand Hydrogen Association at the Seoul launch of Hyundai's Fuel Cell Nexo, which travels 609 kilometers on a single charge that takes less than five minutes.

A fleet of hydrogen powered buses plying the tourist trade between Queenstown and Milford is one of the aspirations behind formation of a new industry group.

Advancing hydrogen energy as a low emission fuel source is the aim of the New Zealand Hydrogen Association headed by chief executive Dr Linda Wright.

A Hyundai car at a hydrogen refuelling station.

The organisation's founding members include deep south trucking firm HW Richardson Group, tourism operator Real Journeys, council quango Venture Southland, and car test facility Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds, Siemens (NZ), Green Cabs, Hyundai New Zealand, Fulton Hogan and Contact Energy.

Richard Lauder, chief executive of of Real Journeys, said the prospect of low emission hydrogen fuel cell coaches running the Milford route would put Real Journeys at the forefront of tourism globally.

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Endorsement has also come from Michael Fulton, national development manager OF Fulton Hogan, a major infrastructure, water, energy, mining and land company.

He said his company was evaluating renewable hydrogen to replace the fossil fuels used by 7500 employees in day-to-day operations.

Brent Esler, chief executive of the HW Richardson Group, was also a keen supporter. His company has 1000 heavy transport vehicles on the road distributing petrol and readymix concrete.

Contact Energy's interest comes from the potential to develop hydrogen exports using electricity.

Hydrogen vehicles can burn hydrogen in an internal combustion engine or by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to run electric motors.

The Hydrogen Association's chief executive, Wanaka-based Linda Wright's enthusiasm was tempered by the fact hydrogen is a long way off as a widespread power source given New Zealand's availability of hydro electric, thermal, solar and wind power.

The association received $30,000 in support from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.

The Government made a bigger investment in hydrogen exploration in June via the Provincial Growth Fund with a grant of $950,000 to Hiringa Energy in New Plymouth.

The funding will be used to scope the engineering and design of two hydrogen generation facilities, up to four mobile compressed hydrogen storage and distribution containers, and up to three hydrogen refuelling stations in early 2019.

Hiringa chief executive Andrew Clennett said while electricity accounted for about 40 per cent of New Zealand's total energy use there was potential to de-carbonise buses, trucks, trains and ferries.

The Hiringa team of 10 people were screening sites in Taranaki and across the North Island close to heavy transport movements for refuelling stations.

The initial partners for this pilot project include Transport Investments, BTW, Fitzroy Engineering, Methanex, BECA, and H2H.

Hiringa was also building partnerships with freight operator TIL, Hookers Pacific, Roadstar, Pacific Fuel, ATL Haulage, NZL Group, McAuley’s Transport, TNL, and Move Logistics.

Clennett welcomed the formation of the new Hydrogen Association and looked forward to being involved.

Meanwhile, Wright said there were examples of more advanced hydrogen vehicle development overseas.

Three car models, whose sale price has been subsidised by their manufacturers, were available from Toyota, Hyundai and Honda.

A Norwegian company was developing a cruise ship, and Transport for London had a bus trial under way, while Aberdeen City Council had the largest fleet of 10 hydrogen-powered buses.

Funding for the Aberdeen trial was provided from the EU, and central and UK governments. Initial evaluation identified a higher number of technical challenges, greater expense of vehicles and maintenance, and high cost of infrastructure and hydrogen. The number of hydrogen-powered buses in Europe has reached about 100 and there are plans for more.

Wright's background includes being a a solid waste manager for Queenstown Lakes District Council, and more recently with One World Consulting on work with state seed funding agency Callaghan Innovation.

A 2015 project involved commercialisation of HyLink, an electrolyser, producing hydrogen from water for small operations.

HyLink's systems, seed funded by KiwiNet, have been demonstrated at a Totara Valley high country farm in the Wairarapa and a pilot at Matiu/Somes Island in Wellington Harbour. The web site has little detail about next steps or contacts for a spokesperson.

Advantages of hydrogen over electric powered vehicles included fast refuelling, longer drive capacity and reliability over solar and wind power, Wright said.

Pricing of hydrogen in New Zealand was highly theoretical given the lack of infrastructure for storage and fuelling, she said.

But she predicted there could be export opportunities for liquid hydrogen, or other methods of transporting by attaching hydrogen to other compounds.

Mark Pickup, principal policy advisor at MBIE, said the Ministry viewed 'the hydrogen economy' as an exciting prospect for New Zealand, to reduce carbon emissions and develop an export industry.