Hiringa Energy will head up plans to develop a hydrogen refuelling network throughout New Zealand to reach 2050 Net Zero goals.
Three strategically located stations have opened in Wiri, South Auckland, Te Rapa, Hamilton, and Palmerston North, with a fourth station planned for Tauranga – an important element of the Tauriko SH29 roading infrastructure. For the network, UK-based Haskel provided its GENO refuelling solutions.
The network covers a majority of freight routes across New Zealand’s north island and are capable of performing back-to-back filling, with throughput of up to 2.8 tpd.
Fuel supplier Waitomo Group and Australasia’s “largest” heavy vehicle fleet owner, TR Group, will establish the Hiringa Refuelling New Zealand (HRNZ) network in partnership with Hiringa.
The network infrastructure establishment received support from the New Zealand government with a $16m loan, growth capital from investors such as Sir Stephen Tindall’s fund K1W1 and international investment from Mitsui & Co. and Green Impact Partners alongside Hiringa.
Hiringa’s CEO, Andrew Clennett claimed that despite heavy transport playing an important role in the country’s economy, it is also a “significant contributor” to national emissions.
He added, “As a first-of-its-kind across Australasia and one of the first networks set up globally to service heavy transport, the initiative addresses this major challenge by providing operators with the infrastructure they need to switch to zero-emission transport in an efficient, scalable and commercially viable manner.”
© Haskel
Haskel’s Hydrogen Systems General Manager, David Muckle, said, “The rollout of Haskel’s reliable, and versatile GENO technology in these hydrogen refuelling stations in New Zealand is a great example of how international collaboration, policy and a positive investment climate accelerate demand for decarbonisation infrastructure.”
The company manufactured the compression and refuelling systems at its Hydrogen Centre of Excellence in Sunderland before shipping them to New Zealand.
One of the network beneficiaries includes NZ Post, who use the Hyundai XCIENT fuel cell truck, deploying it on commercial operations since 2023 and accumulating over 70,000km.
David Walsh, CEO at NZ Post, said the heavy-duty refuelling network will be “instrumental in enabling NZ Post to use this hydrogen truck on longer distances.” Currently, they travel over 350km per day, using slower mobile refuelling.
“With rapid refuelling now available this will allow us to operate the hydrogen truck seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with zero emissions,” Walsh said.
Earlier this week (April 22), Coregas NZ and Halcyon agreed to launch New Zealand’s “first” green hydrogen refuelling station, located in Wiri.
Read more: Coregas to support the development of New Zealand’s ‘first’ hydrogen refuelling station
