A new solar farm in Northland’s Ruakākā is being touted as a real-world demonstration of how hydrogen-powered heavy transport can reduce emissions with minimal impact on project costs.
The Hiringa/MyFarm solar farm has used hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks to transport solar panels from Auckland to the Northland site, with the trucks fuelled by green hydrogen produced from renewable energy.
According to project partners, using fuel cell trucks instead of diesel vehicles prevented up to 10 tonnes of CO2 emissions for a negligible impact on the cost of the project.
The hydrogen trucks were supplied by TR Group and used by Booths Logistics for the transport of panels from Auckland to site. Hiringa says operating the fuel cell trucks added around 5% to transport costs compared with diesel, equating to less than 0.1% extra cost for the project as a whole.
Hiringa co-founder and chair Cathy Clennett says the project demonstrates the practical application of green hydrogen in heavy transport.
“This is New Zealand’s energy transition in action. It’s happening now. The trucks are here, the technology is available, and this is a really good use case for how simple and practical green hydrogen is for heavy transport. There’s no reason why every project in New Zealand can’t be doing this,” Clennett says.
Refuelling took place at Hiringa’s green hydrogen refuelling station in Wiri, South Auckland, with each refill taking between 15 and 20 minutes. The truck completed the return journey to Ruakākā once or twice daily over a three-week period.
“From a transport perspective, the gold standard for any decarbonisation technology is to reduce emissions without impacting productivity. This truck has performed similarly to a diesel equivalent, just without the emissions,” Clennett says.
MyFarm chief executive Andrew Watters says incorporating hydrogen transport into a renewable energy project makes commercial sense.
“The Ruakākā solar farm and the delivery of the solar panels on a hydrogen-fuelled rig are a real-world demonstration of how a company can transition to sustainable energy and transport.
“When operational, electricity generated from the solar farm will be used to produce the green hydrogen that fuels these trucks, so it’s great to see the full cycle in action.
“The commercial pay-off also makes sense – we’re able to decarbonise more of the supply chain during construction and still deliver a project with solid returns for our investors.”
Clennett says the development also highlights the broader energy security benefits of domestic renewable generation and hydrogen production.
“New Zealand is reliant on imported petrol and diesel, making us vulnerable to global supply chain disruptions, price shocks and geopolitical conflicts. By enabling a transition to sovereign clean energy production, this project helps to future-proof New Zealand’s energy sector, creating domestic production, reliable supply chains and price stability.”
