Biofuel in New Zealand
Open-knowledge reference entry
Biofuels remain a small share of national energy use in New Zealand but are viewed as a tool for reducing emissions, improving fuel security, and supporting regional industries.
Commercial activity has focused on low‑level bioethanol and biodiesel blends, influenced by feedstock supply, policy settings, and global fuel prices. Government programmes and proposed sustainability obligations have aimed to encourage investment and provide certainty for producers.
New Zealand’s potential is closely tied to its forestry sector and emerging waste‑to‑fuel technologies, with national studies identifying opportunities for scale alongside challenges such as capital costs, infrastructure needs, and competition for biomass resources.
Biofuels
Biodiesel
In 2007, Ecodiesel planned to build a biodiesel plant in Onehunga, but the project was not completed.
In 2010, Gull began selling a 5%-blend of biodisel under the brand name Diesel Max. The biodiesel was originally sourced locally from Environ Fuels, and available at 5 of out Gull's 100 petrol stations. Initially, there was some concern about engine compatibility for older vehicles.
In 2014, Gull switched from using locally produced biofuels to an imported blend from Australia, citing "local supply issues".
In 2016, Z Energy opened a biodiesel manufacturing plant in Wiri, called Te Kora Hou.
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This entry incorporates text from “Biofuel in New Zealand” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.