SANDIA EXPLORES RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSPORTATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000391 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG KRGY ELTN KGHG PREL NZ SUBJECT: SANDIA EXPLORES RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On October 31 - November 1, Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) representatives Bruce Balfour and Dr. Blake Simmons visited New Zealand to solicit support for a Sandia proposal to create a global network of public-private partnerships for the development and deployment of low-carbon transportation solutions to combat global climate change. This was the first of several international visits planned by Sandia to introduce the proposal. The New Zealand responses were positive though there were no solid commitments to HITEC, particularly given New Zealand's many competing priorities in this sector. End Summary. Sandia Looking for Partners -------------- ¶2. (U) Sandia National Laboratories' representatives Bruce Balfour and Dr. Blake Simmons visited Auckland, Rotorua and Wellington from October 31 through November 1 and conducted a series of meetings with GNZ officials, researchers and energy producers to explain, promote, and obtain support for a Sandia project entitled the Hub for Innovation in the Transportation Energy Community (HITEC). Balfour and Simmons also sought to obtain energy-related contacts and an overview of renewable energy transportation projects within New Zealand. Balfour's role within Sandia is to promote external partnerships and business development for Sandia; Simmons is the manager of Sandia's Energy Systems Department. ¶3. (U) Sandia is a USG-owned organization within the U.S. Department of Energy that is operated under contract by Lockheed Martin. Its facilities are located in Livermore, California and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sandia, born out of the Manhattan Project in 1945, is the largest of DOE's national laboratories with approximately 10,000 employees and a budget of USD 2.4 billion (2007). HITEC -- A Global Partnership -------------- ¶4. (U) Sandia envisions HITEC will become a network of global public-private partnerships involving industry, governments, national laboratories, and universities with a goal to discover, develop, deploy, and commercialize innovative low-carbon transportation energy solutions. According to Balfour and Simmons, HITEC is in its formative stage, and NZ was the first country in which the concept was proposed to potential international partners. Sandia also intends to visit and solicit participation from Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, the PRC, and Saudi Arabia. In the initial phase of HITEC, Sandia is soliciting letters of support for the project and input for the make-up of a steering committee that would guide the structure, funding and work of HITEC. In phase two, according to Balfour and Simmons, HITEC would use financial contributions from participating partners to leverage potential matching funds from DOE, and would seek to engage other USG agencies in HITEC projects. New Zealand Not Encouraging -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Balfour and Simmons met with representatives from several GNZ ministries dealing with energy and transport-related issues: the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST); the Ministry of Economic Development (MED); the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF); and the Ministry of Transportation (MoT). They also discussed the HITEC proposal with representatives of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and Scion Research Limited (both are GNZ-owned research institutes), with Meridian Energy Limited (a GNZ-owned electricity producer),and with Lanzatech New Zealand Limited (a WELLINGTON 00000391 002 OF 002 privately corporation engaged in energy research and production). Poloff accompanied Balfour and Simmons in all of their meetings, with the exception of NIWA, Scion and Lanzatech. ¶6. (SBU) Balfour and Simmons said that the reactions to the HITEC proposal from NIWA, Scion and Lanzatech were enthusiastic and positive. In fact, according to Balfour and Simmons, they appeared ready to sign letters of support immediately, but deferred commitment pending review by the organizations' leadership. The response from Meridian was noncommittal and it requested another meeting with the Sandia representatives during their planned return to New Zealand in December 2008. ¶7. (SBU) At the meeting between Balfour, Simmons, and representatives of the GNZ ministries with energy and transportation portfolios, the GNZ response was less optimistic. Eric Pyle, the director of environmental and social programs for MoRST and the spokesperson for the ministries that met with Sandia, commented that New Zealand is a relatively small country with a limited budget and that the GNZ recently endorsed and committed financial support for the Energy Development in Island Nations (EDIN) project (a joint GNZ, USG and Government of Iceland venture to promote renewable energy development in island nations). Consequently, Pyle predicted that New Zealand would be unlikely to endorse participation in HITEC. Comment: Interested But Spread Thinly -------------- ¶8. (SBU) As with all multilateral initiatives, the GNZ is wary to sign up for fear of spreading its limited resources too thinly. With the GNZ currently engaged in EDIN, officials are skeptical they have adequate personnel and funds to take on another initiative with overlapping objectives. GNZ-owned research institutes and energy companies, however, have considerable freedom to engage in international partnerships without central government approval (especially with non-GNZ funds received from independent revenue sources),and they may decide to participate in HITEC. End Comment. McCORMICK