NZ risks falling behind in green fuel initiatives, warns Taranaki hydrogen developer
A Taranaki company’s director argues New Zealand’s sluggish decarbonisation is putting exporters at risk.
Hiringa Energy head Cathy Clennett said global demand for renewable project investment was rising as markets favoured low-carbon products. NSW government financing of $64 million for the Good Earth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia project came from a $150m pool. The Wathagar ginning facility near Moree, the world’s first Good Earth Cotton farm producing climate-positive and traceable cotton, will have a vast solar farm to power a hydrogen and ammonia operation.
A press release stated that the project “will provide a long-term sustainable pathway for multiple hard-to-abate agricultural and logistics activities, including ammonia-based fertiliser, replacing diesel and LPG for powering the irrigation system, the drying facility, farm vehicles, and transporting cotton to market.”
Once operational, Hiringa’s Kapuni wind turbine project with Ballance Agri-Nutrients might decarbonize farming in New Zealand. The company’s four 125-metre wind turbines at Kokiri Rd, 5km northeast of Manaia municipality, would provide energy to produce hydrogen for Ballance Agri-Nutrients’ ammonia-urea production plant’s fertiliser, but in five years they would supply fuel for commercial and heavy vehicles.
The $70m Kapuni project, originally approved in December 2021 by an independent panel of experts, has been stalled by two court cases, including Greenpeace’s appeal against the resource consent requirements, which will be considered in Wellington by the Court of Appeal on May 23. Clennett said the project wouldn’t start until next summer if the court approved it. She said it was frustrating to be opposed by Greenpeace because of its New Zealand synthetic fertiliser campaign.
H2X plans to list on the London Stock Exchange
H2X Global Limited, has announced a joint mandate from Barclay Pearce Capital and The Ince Group to fund pre-IPO financing for the company.
In order to finance the tremendous growth potential for H2X in 2023, BPC and Ince Group will collaborate to launch new investments throughout Europe and Asia. The arrangement also solidifies H2X’s intention to float on the London Stock Exchange within the next 12 months.
For its upcoming Series A Capital Raise, United H2 Limited (UHL), a founding shareholder, is currently accepting expressions of interest from potential investors. This will provide them with a unique opportunity to gain access to the hydrogen conglomerate, which holds significant positions in 37 hydrogen companies and projects, including H2X.
After that, UHL will look to list on an appropriate exchange in the second half of 2023 in order to put its successful special-purpose vehicle (SPV) model into practise on a large scale. This model entails using a methodical approach to identify high-growth hydrogen projects and creating SPVs with technology partners to quickly unlock their value.
