Japanese general construction firm Obayashi will develop a hydrogen station and green hydrogen production facility in Auckland, New Zealand, which is seeking to replace the use of fossil fuels in port vehicles to meet its target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
Obayashi announced yesterday that it had been selected as a business partner for a project to develop a hydrogen station by New Zealand's import terminal operator Ports of Auckland (POAL). The two companies plan to set up a joint venture ahead of the project, whose start date is unclear.
POAL is targeting to reduce its carbon emissions through this project, as part of efforts to achieve its goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to zero by 2040. New Zealand has set a target to reduce GHG emissions by 30pc from 2005 levels by 2030.
This is Obayashi's second hydrogen project in New Zealand. The firm began building New Zealand's first megawatt-class green hydrogen production and supply facility, which will use geothermal energy as a power generation source, together with one of the country's leading geothermal power plant operators Tuaropaki Trust in 2018. The two companies finished constructing the facility in March.
The New Zealand government last year set a target to source 100pc of electricity from renewable sources by 2030 from 80pc currently. Its energy and transportation sector published a proposal titled A vision for hydrogen in New Zealand in September 2019, outlining strategies to actively promote the use of hydrogen country-wide.
