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Meridian and Contact will spend $ 2 million on a feasibility study to investigate the potential for a large-scale renewable hydrogen production plant in Southland.
Contact Executive Director Mike Fuge said the hydrogen dry year production, export and reserve study would be carried out after unprecedented international interest emerged.
“There is substantial interest from parties looking to seize the New Zealand renewable energy opportunity following the announced closure of the Tiwai Point aluminum smelter.”
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Meridian CEO Neal Barclay said a major hydrogen plant in Southland could ensure the region’s next big industry is renewable energy in the form of green hydrogen, and a large-scale local plant also opened up decarbonization possibilities. for domestic hydrogen-powered industries such as heavy transportation. .
John Hawkins / Things
A new $ 2 million feasibility study will look at the possibility of a new hydrogen plant in New Zealand that could be located in Southland, specifically at the site of the Tiwai aluminum smelter. The smelter is scheduled to close in August 2021.
“We look forward to working together with Great South and local councils on this occasion.”
Drawing on the experience of New Zealand and around the world, the study will investigate the export potential, value chain, policy approaches, technical requirements, environmental considerations and practical problems of green hydrogen production.
It will also examine the potential reserve opportunity for the dry year.
Hydrogen could provide New Zealand with a superior, low-cost alternative to balance supply and demand in dry years, Barclay said.
“It could provide a large amount of New Zealand’s dry year reserve at a fraction of the cost of building new power plants. Having a large amount of demand with the flexibility to turn it down or turn it off during a dry year could add a great benefit to New Zealand in managing the security of our power supply. “
There is a possibility that a new clean green hydrogen industry will replace the outgoing aluminum industry, Fuge said.
“We suspect that there are fantastic economic and decarbonisation benefits to unlock for Southland and New Zealand, not only on the export front, but also by providing a critical investment for domestic hydrogen opportunities.”
Great South CEO Graham Budd said he was delighted to hear about plans to investigate a renewable hydrogen production facility in Southland.
“Great South was a founding member of the NZ Hydrogen Association and our GM strategic projects Steve Canny is the current president of the association, so we have been actively interested in this opportunity for Southland for a long time.
“We are delighted to see the positive results of the government’s Green Hydrogen Strategy being implemented in the industry and Great South will be very pleased to support this research and assist in delivering new opportunities for Southland.”
Canny said fuel independence was an important consideration given the likely fuel shortages in the future.
“In many ways, an opportunity like this provides high-value jobs, highly skilled jobs that will serve New Zealand’s needs, but will also meet the growing international demand for fuel.”
The location of the plant played an important role as it was necessary to have access to water, domestic transport routes, and road, rail and port facilities, he said.
“To distribute hydrogen efficiently, you must have a transport technology that allows you to compress or liquefy [hydrogen] or having the right means of transportation, and that’s a great opportunity in itself. “
Canny believed that there would be many people in New Zealand who did not know much about hydrogen as a fuel.
Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said the hydrogen announcement was positive.
One good thing that came out of the discussions about the closure of the Tiwai aluminum plant was that ideas had been promoted for the potential use of energy coming from the Manapouri station, Hicks said.
“I think there are some wonderful opportunities for Southland in the future, and they are green opportunities. Hydrogen seems to be the one where the most attention is focused. From what I’ve seen so far, it will be one of the key transportation fuels for the future. “
The feasibility study is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021.
Meanwhile, Ministers Grant Robertson and Megan Woods are in Invercargill on Friday to meet with stakeholders and provide an update on how negotiations with Tiwai are developing.
However, none of the ministers are expected to make any major announcements while in town.
