MEDIA RELEASE
29 August 2024
New Plymouth-based Hiringa Energy has won the coveted Low Carbon Future prize at the 2024 New Zealand Energy Awards.
The green hydrogen company opened its first three green hydrogen refuelling stations in 2024, with one more to open in the coming months.
The refuelling stations produce, store and dispense green hydrogen fuel, focusing on reducing carbon emissions from heavy transport.
The judges described Hiringa as a pioneer in New Zealand’s low carbon transition.
“Hiringa is a change-making company and has made substantial progress in delivering real emissions reduction for the hard-to-abate heavy transport sector.
“Judges see the very real potential that this network has for New Zealand in eliminating the majority of heavy transport emissions over time and are excited about its future application in other sectors.”
“This is fantastic recognition for our team,” said Hiringa Chair and co-founder Cathy Clennett.
“We started this project from our garage in New Plymouth nearly nine years ago, and to have delivered a globally innovative network of refuelling stations is testament to their expertise and hard work.
“We also couldn’t have done this without our project partners TR Group and Waitomo as well as EECA, our Taranaki-based contractors Entec, BTW, Energyworks and ECL, and the long-time support of Venture Taranaki.”
Hiringa is also working to establish a green hydrogen-powered ammonia plant in a joint venture with Balance Agri Nutrients in Kapuni, among other projects providing green hydrogen in marine, rail and aviation sectors.
“We are on the cusp of genuine change in providing zero-emission hydrogen to New Zealand,” said CEO and co-founder Andrew Clennett. “With a network now in place we have enabled the transition from high emitting diesel trucks to zero-emissions hydrogen equivalents, which has the potential to cut the equivalent emissions of more than one million cars per year.
“There’s clearly still a lot to be done, but this is a great chance to reflect on how far we’ve come already, and we’re thrilled to have received this award.”
ENDS
