March 20, 2023

Transitioning the heavy transport industry to green, alternative fuels is one step closer with two hydrogen suppliers teaming up to get dual fuel hydrogen trucks on the road.

Halcyon Power Ltd has supplied green hydrogen to support HW Richardson (HWR) Group’s programme to transition to carbon neutral transport.

HWR will use the hydrogen in its dual fuel truck trials in the coming months.

The Invercargill-headquartered company, New Zealand’s largest privately-owned transport company, sees the use of dual fuel trucks – in which hydrogen is combined with diesel as a dual fuel energy source – as a viable transition to eventually running its whole fleet on hydrogen alone, using fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) or hydrogen internal combustion engines (H2ICE).

Dual fuel modifications to an existing combustion engine can reduce carbon emissions by up to 40%.

As well as currently commissioning its first dual fuel truck from a European supplier, HWR has announced plans to have 10 retrofitted trucks on the road in the second quarter of 2023 to coincide with its own first hydrogen plant being commissioned. This refuelling site is set to open in Gore later this year.

Halcyon Power project leader Aya Inagaki said Halcyon was pleased to be the supplier of green hydrogen from its Mōkai electrolyser to bridge the gap between HWR’s testing of dual fuel technology and its own hydrogen production coming on stream.

“Co-operation to accelerate the transition away from carbon-based fuels in the heavy transport sector is in everyone’s best interests,” she said.

HWR CEO Anthony Jones said teaming up with Halcyon until the company’s own hydrogen refuelling site opened made sense because it allowed HWR’s dual fuel trial to gather valuable data.

“When our HWR Hydrogen Gore site opens, we’ll have the most up-to-date and comprehensive information as to how to get the best hydrogen performance from our fleet and forge the path for other heavy transports to follow,” he said.

Halcyon Power, New Zealand’s first megawatt scale green hydrogen facility, had already supplied hydrogen to a number of FCEV projects, Inagaki said, but this was the first time it had been for a dual fuel project.

August 1, 2022

The second annual Geothermal Week in Taupō in late July was an opportunity for Tūaropaki Trust General Manager Energy David Binnie to present to industry insiders on ‘Building a green hydrogen supply chain in Aotearoa New Zealand’.

Binnie’s presentation during the NZ Geothermal Association’s Winter Seminar fitted well with the seminar’s overall title ‘Towards Net Zero: Building a Sustainable Future’ and followed keynote speakers Hon Dr Megan Woods, Minister of Energy and Resources, and Andrew Caseley, CE of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

Woods acknowledged the efforts of Halcyon Power Ltd in getting out of the blocks first with green hydrogen, while Caseley, who overall stressed a real sense of urgency in reducing emissions, at one point raised the issue of hard-to-decarbonise sectors like heavy transport.

Halcyon Power’s future plans for fast refuelling (something akin to the 15 minutes a truck would currently experience) and a distribution facility in South Auckland would tie in to creating a better user-experience with the fuel and overcome fear of change, responded Binnie.

While green hydrogen solutions were available right now, he said, customers needed confidence in product supply, but that cost of supply would be more expensive than fossil fuels until technology advances or government policy levelled the playing field.

Currently we were not factoring into a (pollutive) fuel or energy price the delays or barriers to the uptake of low or no emission alternatives – such as the intergenerational cost of coping with catastrophic climate events that the world was currently experiencing.

Policy reform could ensure that the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) drove actual emission reductions now rather than leaving it for future generations.

Also not helpful was a growth in competitive rhetoric between advocates of hydrogen, electric vehicles and bio-fuels – as the switch away from fossil fuels needed co-operation and a desire to share technology. In fact, we could be considering co-located hydrogen and EV charging infrastructure as the country built a reliable and efficient fuelling network, he said.

Critical as well for hydrogen was building flexible capacity slightly ahead of demand.

Binnie also stressed that Halcyon Power, the 50/50 joint venture between Tūaropaki Trust and Obayashi Corporation, was consistent with a commitment in both companies to intergenerational investment and sustainability.

Partnerships between companies with like-minded visions could bring collaboration with the power to spark innovation, he said, though in quoting Bill Gates earlier he had also noted: “To truly combat climate change, everyone in the world will need to change their mindsets and behaviour.”

May 31, 2022

The latest zero emission hydrogen technology is now visible on central North Island roads.

Tūaropaki Trust, a land-based organisation near Taupō with interests in geothermal energy, milk powder production, energy services, horticulture, food innovation technology, viticulture and dairy farming, has taken ownership of a new Hyundai NEXO.

The Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle will be used to demonstrate the potential of green hydrogen as a transport fuel, says the Trust’s General Manager Energy David Binnie.

It will run on the hydrogen being produced at Halcyon Power Limited’s green hydrogen plant at Mōkai.

Halcyon, a 50/50 venture between the Trust and Obayashi Corporation, one of Japan’s leading construction companies known for technological innovation, was officially opened in December last year.

Because it uses electricity generated by Tūaropaki Power Company’s geothermal power station, Halcyon’s source of production energy is carbon-neutral and renewable. As a transport fuel, hydrogen results in zero operating emissions with the only discharge being water vapour.

These two aspects were integral to the Trust’s involvement in hydrogen as an energy project and its purchase of the Hyundai FCEV, says Trust chief executive officer Steve Murray.

“Tūaropaki has sustainability as one of its guiding principles and the green hydrogen project with the involvement of Obayashi and their sustainable development goals is a perfect fit.

“Ultimately we are looking at a national hydrogen supply chain that includes transportation, site storage and refuelling infrastructure.”

Hyundai New Zealand CEO Andy Sinclair, adds: “For a long time, hydrogen has been touted as the fuel of the future. But today is proof that it’s now the fuel of today. We brought NEXO, New Zealand’s first hydrogen-powered vehicle into the country in 2019, so are delighted to see it in its first commercial use with Tūaropaki Trust.”

Since completing post commissioning due diligence, Halcyon has been contributing hydrogen to a number of vehicle trials.

Binnie said the company saw testing and validation as part of its role as a hydrogen innovator.

Among the vehicles for which it has been a testing bed, Halcyon has been supplying green hydrogen for commercial trials of the first FCEV truck in New Zealand – the Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell.

The first of these is expected to be in commercial operation at the end of June with Hyundai announcing another will be on the road by the end of the year and more coming in 2023.

An XCIENT Fuel Cell travelling 80,000km per year is expected to save 50 tonnes of CO2 in emissions while figures from the US Environmental Protection Agency suggest a zero-emission passenger vehicle saves about 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per year.

“Transport emissions in New Zealand contribute around 25% 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,” Murray says.

“It is important that we build customer confidence in the reliable, effective supply of hydrogen to grow the industry. The leadership that we have shown to date and the partnerships we have formed with companies like Hyundai give us an ideal opportunity to do that.”

NEXO and XCIENT Fuel Cell are the embodiment of its long-term commitment to introducing hydrogen-powered transport in New Zealand and around the world, says Hyundai.

The NEXO joins six new Hyundai electric and hybrid vehicles introduced to New Zealand over the past 12-months. Hyundai New Zealand’s eco-friendly models include New Zealand and World Car of the Year IONIQ 5, the Kona Electric, IONIQ fastback (which is available in electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid), and Santa Fe, Tucson plug-in hybrids (PHEV) and non-pluggable hybrids (HEV) and Kona HEV.

“As part of a line-up that includes hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric models, NEXO underscores our leadership in eco-mobility and our commitment to a sustainable, low-emissions motoring future in this country,” says Sinclair.

December 9, 2021

A green hydrogen production operation near Taupō is set to enter a new phase.

NZ’s first ‘green hydrogen’ plant was officially opened today (Thursday, December 9) by Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods. The plant was established by Halcyon Power Ltd, a 50/50 joint venture between Tūaropaki Trust and Obayashi Corporation of Japan, and has been in development since 2018.

Halcyon Power uses electricity generated by geothermal power to electrolyze water to produce ‘green hydrogen’. It expects to begin wholesaling hydrogen domestically in January and will produce around 180 tonnes in the first year. The ultimate aim, said Tūaropaki chief executive officer Steve Murray, is to complete a hydrogen supply chain that includes transportation, site storage and refuelling infrastructure.

Tūaropaki Trust has a track record of NZ firsts, opening the Mōkai power station, near Taupō, in 2000 - the country’s first privately developed and owned geothermal plant. Tūaropaki entered the joint venture with Obayashi to encourage the commercial production and wider use of hydrogen as a transport fuel. Obayashi Corporation is one of Japan’s most successful construction companies, known for expertise and technological innovation, and played a key role in the construction of Auckland’s Waterview Connection road tunnel. Technology for the plant, including the electrolyzer, was supplied by Hydrogenics/Cummins.

Murray said the future of green hydrogen - produced with renewable electricity - was not only as a substitute for fossil fuels in the transport sector but also to replace hydrogen used in industrial processes and produced using natural gas or coal.

“Halcyon Power aligns with our values to look after our environment and champion research and development of alternative renewable energy. While helping New Zealand decarbonise, this project opens up the potential for the country to export hydrogen and intellectual property related to hydrogen as a transport fuel.”

Tūaropaki chair Gina Rangi said as well as fitting with the trust’s ethos to protect and sustainably develop its land and people, the hydrogen plant was a step towards the country’s Zero Carbon Act goals of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In a videoed address Obayashi Corporation president Kenji Hasuwa said hydrogen production and application was a major trend in de-carbonization with the state-of-the-art facility enhancing the country’s competitiveness and renown. The completion of the plant was not the endpoint, he said.

“Together with Tūaropaki we will investigate building a hydrogen supply chain in New Zealand that spans production, transportation and application, and contribute to the greening of the country.”

Halcyon Power project manager Aya Inagaki said commissioning of the plant was now complete, and post commission due diligence should be completed by the end of December. At this stage, retailers will be able to collect the gas, she said, which would be priced competitively to enhance its attractiveness as an alternative fuel. Normally fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) would require around 5kg to fill the tank, for a range of over 600-800 km.