Dr. Linda Wright
New Zealand Hydrogen COUNCIL CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Throughout her 20-year career Linda has been at the forefront of driving innovation and change across the sustainability, solid waste and renewable energy sectors. Linda has provided strategic advice and technical expertise to a wide range of public and private sector organisations, ranging from small and medium sized businesses to large multinational organisations, as well as central government, local authorities and community groups.
Linda has an extensive global network across the hydrogen value chain and understands in detail the value proposition for renewable hydrogen in New Zealand.
In 2016 Linda founded a private sector consortium of organisations to progress the delivery of renewable hydrogen infrastructure in New Zealand. In 2018 Linda was appointed as the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Hydrogen Association. Linda is committed to delivering the Association’s objectives to assist the delivery of low emission hydrogen solutions both domestically and for potential export.
Linda has been involved in progressing technical aspects of hydrogen production, storage, demand and use scenarios within the transportation and industrial process heat sectors. She is currently involved in developing strategic alliances of private sector entities to deliver a range of hydrogen projects across New Zealand.
Linda has extensive experience and an established track record in delivering transformational change to achieve decarbonisation across a range of sectors. This, along with her extensive international connections, technical knowledge and vision of the opportunities for renewable hydrogen, means she has played a key role in the development of hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel in New Zealand.
Background
PhD in Sustainable Waste Management and a BSc (1st Class Hons) in Environmental Risk Management from the Engineering Department of the University of Wales, Cardiff.
Linda completed her PhD in 2002, when sustainability was a newly developing area of European public policy that was focused on transforming environmental performance across Member States.
Innovation & Commercialisation
Passion for innovation and has been instrumental in developing and delivering legislative tools, strategic frameworks, fiscal incentives, behavioural change mechanisms, communication strategies and education programmes as well as designing, procuring and delivering new infrastructure and services to achieve sustainability outcomes.
Hydrogen
From 2016 to 2018 Linda founded the New Zealand Hydrogen Energy Consortium Inc. The Consortium comprised some of New Zealand’s largest and most progressive organisations that are focused on the generation and use of renewable hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel for heavy vehicle transport and industrial process heat applications.
In 2017 Linda was engaged by a private sector entity to work with Callaghan Innovation to advance the commercialisation of the HyLink, an electrolyser producing hydrogen from water for small scale off grid applications.
Linda is currently the Chief Executive of the New Zealand Hydrogen Association, which she launched in 2018. Linda successfully grew the Association from its nine founding entities to over 28 organisations in just over 4 months.
Specialist Expertise
Linda is currently on the international Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Working Group of the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), which is a newly developed international organisation representing the global aluminium value chain that is committed to improving sustainability performance across the aluminium supply chain industry.
Linda has specialised in complex contract procurement processes focused on sustainable waste management outcomes including; contract writing and negotiations, tender processes and evaluation and contractor performance improvement and delivery. Linda has led multidisciplinary procurement teams in contract preparation and negotiations to the value of $46 million and successfully managed annual operating expenditure in excess of $15 million.