Person of the Year 2020 nominee: Andrew Clennett paves a greener road

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year nominees answer the hard questions.

From the outside the Clennett residence resembles a “normal” family home, but head inside and every few steps there is someone working toward a greener energy sector.

Most bedrooms and even the garage of Andrew and Cathy Clennett’s New Plymouth property have been converted into office space.

It’s the heart of Hiringa Energy, the first company in New Zealand dedicated to the supply of 'green' hydrogen.

Since 2016, when the Clennett's first founded the company, it has grown to a team of 20 specialists, all developing a way to replace fossil fuels as the main energy source for heavy transport and industrial processing.

Hiringa has paved the way to establishing the country’s hydrogen industry, fundamental to the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Taranaki has always been the centre of energy in New Zealand, and with Hiringa it has the opportunity to stay that way in the post-fossil fuel era. For this, Andrew, the chief executive, has been nominated for Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year 2020.

Hiringa Energy co-founder Andrew Clennett has been nominated for Taranaki Daily News Person of the Year 2020.

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It’s accepted only with the acknowledgement that Hiringa couldn’t be what it is without Cathy, who started the company, Andrew says.

One of their first projects was with Venture Taranaki and New Plymouth District council, helping create the H2 Taranaki Roadmap.

In 2018, Hiringa received a $950,000 grant from the government to develop plans for hydrogen production and a refuelling network.

It teamed up with Ballance Agri-Nutrients last year to produce green hydrogen, using renewable energy, at Ballance's Kapuni ammonia urea plant in South Taranaki, with a primary focus on the heavy transport industry.

Early this year, Hiringa joined forces with Waitomo Group to develop a network of refuelling stations across the country. They hope to have 100 in place by 2030, with the first eight next year.

Hiringa Energy has grown out of the Clennetts’ home in New Plymouth.

The government invested $20 million into each of the $50m projects.

Hiringa further plan to bring up to 25 hydrogen-powered trucks, in production overseas, into the country next year.

The Clennetts have made huge personal sacrifices to grow their hydrogen start-up. Andrew says he’s not the healthiest man and there’s a lot of stress.

They have a daughter who comes out of her bedroom and there’s 10 people in her kitchen.

They’re constantly having to check their values are sound and their family isn’t suffering too much.

Andrew and Cathy grew up in Tasmania. They met at high school and were married in 1997.

In “Tazzy” even the hardcore climate change deniers had a tinge of green in their blood, and the couple were no different.

Hiringa Energy’s Cathy Clennett launched the company in 2016 before Andrew came onboard full-time the following year. (File photo)

They both went on to grow careers as engineers, each securing contracts which moved the family around the world.

Cathy’s skills in infrastructure, resources, finance and technology took them to the United States where she built data centres, while Andrew’s work in the energy sector took them to Europe.

In 2012, they moved from Perth to Taranaki for Andrew’s job as general manager of Todd Energy's operations. He previously lived here in the late 1990s.

Within a week of arriving, he was on stage, in front of 18,000 people, opening the Womad festival in his role at Todd Energy, major sponsor of the event.

“That was welcome to Taranaki…and you just think ‘this is cool’.”

Taranaki was the best move for the family. Life simplified which eventually created space for the inception of a new venture - a collaboration between Andrew and Cathy.

They began asking: “what could we do with each other's skill sets combined that could really shift the dial”, while incorporating their “green blood”. The hydrogen seed began to sprout.

In 2016, Cathy launched Hiringa. The company was incorporated in 2017, and Andrew came onboard full-time in September 2017.

Andrew says the start up will become a “grown up” company in the next 12 months.

The winning formula has been his and Cathy’s skill sets, as well as two key early founders which helped fill the gaps - one who previously worked with major clean-tech companies, and another with a background in trading energy.

The Clennetts have sunk a lot of their own money into the company as well as getting backing from private investors. Then, of course, there's the hard work and determination.

“We’re people who start early, work late, who are so passionate about what we're doing,' Andrew says.

Once they get Kapuni and the network online and earning revenue, pegged for the end of next year, they will know whether the model works, and they can then “go big”.

“We always said it would take at least five years to actually know that you’re truly game on, and it’s working and you're getting that revenue, and we’re on track for that.”