New Zealand is teaming up with Japan on renewable energy initiatives including the development of green hydrogen infrastructure.
Hydrogen-refuelling stations will begin to appear in the North Island later this year, built by New Zealand company Hiringa, together with Japanese partner Mitsui & Co.
This was confirmed during prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s trade mission trip to Japan. She was also joined by Toyota NZ chief executive Neeraj Lala in Tokyo as he announced the launch of an innovative hydrogen-powered car-sharing scheme in Auckland.
The scheme will feature the Toyota Mirai – which uses zero emission fuel cell technology – in partnership with eight major New Zealand companies.
“Hydrogen powered-vehicles are one way we can reduce the emissions of our car fleet,” Ardern says.
“New Zealand’s hydrogen-powered fleet will only grow, and hydrogen vehicles of all sizes need infrastructure to support them.”
The Government is already supporting the roll-out of a series of refuelling stations to be used by heavy freight hydrogen trucks through $20 million from the Covid-19 Response and Recovery fund.
Hydrogen infrastructure is also being developed in New Zealand by Japan’s Obayashi Corporation which in partnership with Tuaropaki Trust opened New Zealand’s first-ever green hydrogen power plant.
Obayashi’s investment in New Zealand’s hydrogen sector continues to grow through a partnership with Ports of Auckland to develop a green hydrogen production facility and refuelling infrastructure.
“Electric vehicles are also key to meeting our climate change targets and I encourage Japanese manufacturers to take advantage of the significant incentives we have in place to accelerate the uptake of EVs in New Zealand,” Ardern says.
The prime minister was is in Tokyo on the second leg of a trade mission to Singapore and Japan, also accompanied by trade and export minister Damien O’Connor and a business delegation.
In an event at the iconic Tokyo Tower, Ardern was also joined by GNS Science chief executive Ian Simpson as he celebrated a New Zealand consortium opening an office in Tokyo to develop geothermal energy technologies in Japan.
GNS has operated in Japan for more than 30 years, and the consortium will bring new geothermal expertise into Japan, including technology which extracts lithium for car batteries in the future.
