New Zealand green hydrogen producer Halcyon has opened the country’s first green hydrogen fast refuelling station in Wiri, South Auckland.

Located on Coregas NZ’s Manukau site, the heavy vehicle hydrogen refuelling station is an integral piece of a growing nationwide network of supply locations being pioneered by Halcyon and other early adopters of hydrogen technology.

Halcyon, a joint venture between Tūaropaki Trust and Obayashi Corporation, opened New Zealand’s first green hydrogen production facility at the Mōkai geothermal power plant northwest of Taupō in 2021.

The plant can produce 180 tonnes of green hydrogen per year using electricity generated by Tūaropaki Power Company, which provides low-carbon credential traceability. Since opening the green hydrogen plant, Tūaropaki Trust and Obayashi identified that hydrogen refuellers need to be located as close to main trucking routes as possible, hence the refueller’s location in Manukau.

The refueller can be relocated as customer needs change.

Halcyon’s model of hydrogen hubs, including the Mōkai green energy hub, allows several customers to be supplied from one source, which keeps costs down and provides economies of scale.

“Reliable, local hydrogen supply gives our customers the confidence to invest and innovate,” said Dave Binnie, general manager energy at Tūaropaki Trust.

Further to being the site location for the refueller, Coregas’ manufacturing and supply experience was critical to the project’s technical and compliance requirements and Coregas NZ drew on insight and experience from Australia’s recent launch of H2Station, Australia’s first hydrogen refuelling station for heavy vehicles, to meet Halcyon’s requirements.

“Taking charge of Halcyon’s express refueller enables us to provide our expertise in managing H2 distribution while supporting the transport evolution for New Zealand,” said Peter Neate, general manager at Coregas NZ.

“The transport and trucking sector in New Zealand remains a largely untapped opportunity for hydrogen-fuelled heavy vehicles, which deliver a lighter, longer-distance solution combined with fast refuelling and high payload capability.”