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Toyota New Zealand and Obayashi Corporation partner in green hydrogen initiative
- Toyota NZ announces Obayashi Corporation as its official refuelling partner for its Toyota Hydrogen Project Car Share Scheme
- Green hydrogen produced by Halcyon Power Limited using geothermal electricity will be 100% domestically produced
- Toyota and Obayashi are committed to a just transition to a low carbon eco-system
Toyota New Zealand and Obayashi Corporation have today announced that they are partnering to provide green hydrogen refuelling for the Toyota Hydrogen Project Car Share scheme.
The Toyota Hydrogen Project Car Share scheme was launched in April and involves Toyota partnering with eight kiwi brands including The Warehouse Group, Air New Zealand, Saatchi & Saatchi, TVNZ, Beca, Westpac NZ, Spark, and Z Energy, to share a fleet of Toyota Mirai.
Toyota New Zealand is further supporting the development of Aotearoa New Zealand’s green hydrogen industry, announcing an official fuel partnership that will see its Toyota Mirai fleet in Auckland powered by domestically produced, 100% green hydrogen.
The new agreement will see Halcyon Power Limited, a joint venture partnership between Obayashi Corporation and Tūaropaki Trust, supply Toyota with 100% green hydrogen, domestically produced at the hydrogen production plant at Mōkai.
Toyota New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Neeraj Lala says Toyota was adamant it would only work with a refuelling partner who could provide 100% green hydrogen, to avoid any requirement for carbon offsetting, and ensure the fleet was operating with net zero carbon emissions.
“We’re very pleased to be partnering with Obayashi Corporation, who through their partnership with Tūaropaki Trust, are utilising New Zealand’s geothermal resources to provide a completely renewable, zero emissions hydrogen to power the Hydrogen Car Share Project,” he says.
“Like us, Obayashi Corporation and the Trust are committed to a carbon-neutral future. This pilot project is crucial in demonstrating the practical and commercial application of hydrogen fuel cell technology and provides Toyota New Zealand with another opportunity to explore new environmentally sustainable options for the domestic market.”
Mr Ken Ando, Managing Executive Officer, and Head of Green Energy Division for Obayashi Corporation, says “It is exciting for us to partner with Toyota New Zealand and showcase what the green hydrogen eco-system will look like. We see this collaboration in the transport sector as a first step for a low-carbon future. Obayashi Corporation, together with Tūaropaki Trust, established our flagship Halcyon Power Limited to contribute to the decarbonisation of New Zealand and we will continue moving to the next level.”
Having a carbon-neutral and renewable source of production energy for Halcyon through Tūaropaki Power Company’s geothermal power station and hydrogen being a zero operating emissions transport fuel were integral to Tūaropaki Trust’s involvement in hydrogen.
“Tūaropaki has sustainability as a guiding principle and the green hydrogen project with the involvement of Obayashi Corporation and their sustainable development goals is a perfect fit,” says Tūaropaki Trust chief executive officer Steve Smits-Murray.
“Ultimately, we are looking at a national hydrogen supply chain that includes transportation, site storage and refuelling infrastructure. 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.”
“It is important that we build customer confidence in the reliable, effective supply of hydrogen to grow the industry. Partnerships with companies that are investing in hydrogen transport technology, such as Toyota, give us an ideal opportunity to do that,” says Mr Smits-Murray.
Neeraj Lala says the Toyota Hydrogen Projects support Toyota’s aim of transitioning into a mobility company that is focused on mobility for all. He says the announcement has demonstrable benefits for the domestic hydrogen industry, and for New Zealand’s transport emissions.