Wellington Water staff are now able to enter the failed Moa Point treatment plant but they cannot provide details of the work being done or who is involved.

Nearly 80 percent of the equipment inside the plant was damaged when it was flooded by a backflow of raw sewage last week.

At the peak of the equipment failure, 3300 litres of untreated wastewater went into the sea every second.

Since then a stretch of the Capital’s south coast had been off limits for swimming and gathering sea food.

Wellington Water expected it could be months before the plant was returned to full operations.

It said cleaning work was continuing, with fresh water flushed through the biological treatment areas of the plant to reduce levels of hydrogen sulphide, which made the interior of the plant hazardous to enter.

On Wednesday the water entity said it had “begun a closely managed entry” to the plant.

But it could not confirm specifics regarding who was now able to access the site, the conditions inside, what was being done to ensure the people’s safety or what was being revealed now that access had been acheived.

Earlier this week, Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dogherty said, initially, a room at the bottom of plant, the size of an Olympic Swimming Pool, was 3 metres deep in wastewater.

RNZ’s requests for information regarding the access to the site were put to Wellington Water at the beginning of the week in response to interviews with Dogherty where he said Monday would be the first day staff could safely go into the building to assess the damage.

On Wednesday, a statement from Dogherty said Wellington Water would be stepping back from making public statements about “aspects of the Moa Point incident and response” following an announcement from Wellington Mayor Andrew Little that the government would look to establish an independent inquiry into the plant’s failure as soon as possible.

“Now the inquiry has been signalled, it is important we allow that process to run its course. This means that we are unable to provide any further public statements regarding aspects of the Moa Point incident and response that may be included in the inquiry,” Dogherty said.

At the begining of the week, Little said Wellington City Council and central government would work together to ensure an inquiry was independent and had the right powers to make sure a similar problem never happened again.

Little said a ministerial inquiry would meet his preferred criteria of having independence, the right expertise and the power to access information.

“A ministerial inquiry has all that. It is more formalistic and does take a longer period of time to get the appointments up, get the terms of reference sorted out and then get it going. For me it is about having those criteria met but doing something that is as quick as possible. Those are the things that we are talking through,” Little said.

A spokesperson for Wellington Water said it hoped to provide more details of the work being done in the plant on Thursday.

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It sounds like an impossible task – eradicating all stoats, rats and possums from more than 110,000 hectares of South Westland and keeping them out.

But that’s the aim for Predator Free South Westland, a collaborative project with these three pests in its crosshairs.

Its ambitious goal is now nearing completion, and it could provide a template on how to approach large pest removal projects in Aotearoa.

Backcountry beginnings

The project area stretches from the Tasman Sea to the crest of the Southern Alps and is bounded by the Whataroa and Waiau rivers. It covers shoreline, nature reserves, farmland, townships, and lots of rugged, remote backcountry.

But there’s only one way to eat an elephant, and the first ‘bite’ was the Perth Valley. It was here that the project began in 2018.

Tackling its target pests in this rugged backcountry terrain involved 1080 toxin aerial drops. Once that was done, mopping up stragglers and continuous monitoring for reinvasion became key.

It is remote and challenging terrain, further complicated by the West Coast weather, but it became like a second home for field rangers such as Chad Cottle.

“There’s a lot of ephemeral creeks that can come up out of nowhere if you’re not aware of them,” he says.

“So we got used to the ones that came up and weren’t crossable after some rain and ones that went down really quickly. So we know where our boundaries were if we were going out during a rain day we’d know we better not cross that one because we won’t be able to get back across it if it keeps raining.”

Those early days involved chew cards and trail cameras, with rangers then classifying camera images in the hut at the end the day, but along the way the project has embraced new technology.

Now a network of 1200 AI cameras are spread across the project area. These were developed by Zero Invasive Predators, one of the project partners, alongside the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Next Foundation.

The thermal-sensing cameras are trained to identify the three target species and alert the team by email when one is spotted. Pests are lured to the area using mayonnaise, dispensed automatically from a system that creates its own hydrogen gas to put periodic pressure on a plunger. In practical terms, these technological advances mean fewer trips to the backcountry, and therefore lower costs.

Once a pest is spotted, the team jumps into action. Decision-making on how to respond depends on what has been sighted, and where. A breeding population of rats in the backcountry would likely trigger an aerial drop. A possum could be hunted down by a species dog and dispatched with a rifle, or a live capture cage could be set for it. A stoat might be targeted with toxic rat bait.

But the backcountry is only one part of the project area. Around the small towns of Whataroa, Ōkārito and Franz Joseph the team is also working with private landowners, with a very different approach.

The end in sight

Following its early work in the Perth Valley the project area was divided into large distinct blocks of land to tackle one by one. Now it is down to the last section – around 10,000 hectares of farmland around Whataroa – which it aims to complete this year.

Here aerial toxin drops are not an option, so bait stations and trapping become key tools.

Pouri Rakete-Stones, the rural elimination team lead, has been working with farmers and landowners in the community, answering questions about what the project operating on their land would mean for them. And though many of the conversations often start with scepticism, Pouri says in general people are on board with what it’s trying to achieve.

“Most people can’t believe, they don’t believe that we can do it. First thing they say, you’re never going to get rid of rats. You know, there’s too many rats. You might be able to do it with possums, you’re never going to do it with stoats,” Pouri says.

“So trying to have that conversation about what tools we use, what techniques we do, how we go about work.

“We are elimination, we’re not suppression. So we are looking at targeting the last one. Having that conversation, telling those stories, getting them comfortable around what we can do. And then once we get on the ground and start doing the work, they can see the results pretty quickly.”

Maintenance

The project area was carefully chosen for several reasons. A high proportion of conservation land, a region home to several threatened native species, and geographical features that would help the mission.

While pests like possums have at times been spotted at surprising altitudes, the peaks of the Southern Alps seem to be forming an effective barrier against reinvasion.

The Whataroa and Waiau rivers also allow some protection, but roads and bridges across these are weaker points. Pest-proof gates have been installed on the swing bridges in the back country, but low river flow, or perhaps rat stowaways in vehicles mean that reinvasions continue to occur.

The area is thought of as having a ‘core’ that is free of targeted pests, with a buffer zone around it, into which rats, stoats and possums will stray.

Rapid AI camera recognition and response are how it deals with such incursions, but in addition, having identified the rivers as the weak point, the team is now running targeted operations on the other side of the rivers, to limit pest numbers there.

The goal now is to make this maintenance phase as affordable as possible. Nate St Hill, operation coordinator for Predator Free South Westland, says it is close to $30 a hectare, so an annual bill of $3 million (it has cost $50m to do the eradication). The agreement is that the maintenance will be supported by DOC through the Tomorrow Accord. It will continue to work to get that cost down, says Nate, by further embracing technology, thereby reducing labour time, and helicopter costs.

Seeing changes

While rats, stoats and possums are not the only introduced pest mammals in the project area, getting rid of those targeted three is leading to positive changes. Those working on the project for several years, as well as local eco-tourism operators, are reporting increases in both bird and plant life.

More kākāriki and kea have been sighted in the back country, there are reports of large flocks of kererū, and the only natural population of rowi, New Zealand’s rarest kiwi, are now starting to move beyond the Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary.

Dion Arnold is managing director of White Heron Sanctuary Tours, which operates in Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, near Whataroa.

The reserve is home to country’s only white heron kōtuku breeding ground, and Dion has been working here for almost three decades.

In recent years, Dion says, native species have been flourishing in the absence of pests.

“Just seeing those regenerating plants on the forest floor, areas that would have looked like a lawnmower had been through the forest in the past, in the last few years has come back with growth all across it,” he says.

“And the same with the bird life all around us. We’re hearing tūī and bellbird, grey warblers, the fantails and tomtits are around. And to see the number of those birds about having flocks of 30 or 40 of them in the trees above us is just incredible.”

The family-run business has been trapping in the area for a long time, but he says the intensive work to get rid of pests in the surrounding region means its traps are mostly for education now.

“Now we can go months and not have a catch in any of our traps out around here. It’s fantastic.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Follow Our Changing World on Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts

It sounds like an impossible task – eradicating all stoats, rats and possums from more than 110,000 hectares of South Westland and keeping them out.

But that’s the aim for Predator Free South Westland, a collaborative project with these three pests in its crosshairs.

Its ambitious goal is now nearing completion, and it could provide a template on how to approach large pest removal projects in Aotearoa.

Backcountry beginnings

The project area stretches from the Tasman Sea to the crest of the Southern Alps and is bounded by the Whataroa and Waiau rivers. It covers shoreline, nature reserves, farmland, townships, and lots of rugged, remote backcountry.

But there’s only one way to eat an elephant, and the first ‘bite’ was the Perth Valley. It was here that the project began in 2018.

Tackling its target pests in this rugged backcountry terrain involved 1080 toxin aerial drops. Once that was done, mopping up stragglers and continuous monitoring for reinvasion became key.

It is remote and challenging terrain, further complicated by the West Coast weather, but it became like a second home for field rangers such as Chad Cottle.

“There’s a lot of ephemeral creeks that can come up out of nowhere if you’re not aware of them,” he says.

“So we got used to the ones that came up and weren’t crossable after some rain and ones that went down really quickly. So we know where our boundaries were if we were going out during a rain day we’d know we better not cross that one because we won’t be able to get back across it if it keeps raining.”

Those early days involved chew cards and trail cameras, with rangers then classifying camera images in the hut at the end the day, but along the way the project has embraced new technology.

Now a network of 1200 AI cameras are spread across the project area. These were developed by Zero Invasive Predators, one of the project partners, alongside the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Next Foundation.

The thermal-sensing cameras are trained to identify the three target species and alert the team by email when one is spotted. Pests are lured to the area using mayonnaise, dispensed automatically from a system that creates its own hydrogen gas to put periodic pressure on a plunger. In practical terms, these technological advances mean fewer trips to the backcountry, and therefore lower costs.

Once a pest is spotted, the team jumps into action. Decision-making on how to respond depends on what has been sighted, and where. A breeding population of rats in the backcountry would likely trigger an aerial drop. A possum could be hunted down by a species dog and dispatched with a rifle, or a live capture cage could be set for it. A stoat might be targeted with toxic rat bait.

But the backcountry is only one part of the project area. Around the small towns of Whataroa, Ōkārito and Franz Joseph the team is also working with private landowners, with a very different approach.

The end in sight

Following its early work in the Perth Valley the project area was divided into large distinct blocks of land to tackle one by one. Now it is down to the last section – around 10,000 hectares of farmland around Whataroa – which it aims to complete this year.

Here aerial toxin drops are not an option, so bait stations and trapping become key tools.

Pouri Rakete-Stones, the rural elimination team lead, has been working with farmers and landowners in the community, answering questions about what the project operating on their land would mean for them. And though many of the conversations often start with scepticism, Pouri says in general people are on board with what it’s trying to achieve.

“Most people can’t believe, they don’t believe that we can do it. First thing they say, you’re never going to get rid of rats. You know, there’s too many rats. You might be able to do it with possums, you’re never going to do it with stoats,” Pouri says.

“So trying to have that conversation about what tools we use, what techniques we do, how we go about work.

“We are elimination, we’re not suppression. So we are looking at targeting the last one. Having that conversation, telling those stories, getting them comfortable around what we can do. And then once we get on the ground and start doing the work, they can see the results pretty quickly.”

Maintenance

The project area was carefully chosen for several reasons. A high proportion of conservation land, a region home to several threatened native species, and geographical features that would help the mission.

While pests like possums have at times been spotted at surprising altitudes, the peaks of the Southern Alps seem to be forming an effective barrier against reinvasion.

The Whataroa and Waiau rivers also allow some protection, but roads and bridges across these are weaker points. Pest-proof gates have been installed on the swing bridges in the back country, but low river flow, or perhaps rat stowaways in vehicles mean that reinvasions continue to occur.

The area is thought of as having a ‘core’ that is free of targeted pests, with a buffer zone around it, into which rats, stoats and possums will stray.

Rapid AI camera recognition and response are how it deals with such incursions, but in addition, having identified the rivers as the weak point, the team is now running targeted operations on the other side of the rivers, to limit pest numbers there.

The goal now is to make this maintenance phase as affordable as possible. Nate St Hill, operation coordinator for Predator Free South Westland, says it is close to $30 a hectare, so an annual bill of $3 million (it has cost $50m to do the eradication). The agreement is that the maintenance will be supported by DOC through the Tomorrow Accord. It will continue to work to get that cost down, says Nate, by further embracing technology, thereby reducing labour time, and helicopter costs.

Seeing changes

While rats, stoats and possums are not the only introduced pest mammals in the project area, getting rid of those targeted three is leading to positive changes. Those working on the project for several years, as well as local eco-tourism operators, are reporting increases in both bird and plant life.

More kākāriki and kea have been sighted in the back country, there are reports of large flocks of kererū, and the only natural population of rowi, New Zealand’s rarest kiwi, are now starting to move beyond the Ōkārito Kiwi Sanctuary.

Dion Arnold is managing director of White Heron Sanctuary Tours, which operates in Waitangiroto Nature Reserve, near Whataroa.

The reserve is home to country’s only white heron kōtuku breeding ground, and Dion has been working here for almost three decades.

In recent years, Dion says, native species have been flourishing in the absence of pests.

“Just seeing those regenerating plants on the forest floor, areas that would have looked like a lawnmower had been through the forest in the past, in the last few years has come back with growth all across it,” he says.

“And the same with the bird life all around us. We’re hearing tūī and bellbird, grey warblers, the fantails and tomtits are around. And to see the number of those birds about having flocks of 30 or 40 of them in the trees above us is just incredible.”

The family-run business has been trapping in the area for a long time, but he says the intensive work to get rid of pests in the surrounding region means its traps are mostly for education now.

“Now we can go months and not have a catch in any of our traps out around here. It’s fantastic.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

SYDNEY, Jan. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Siltrax, a leader in high-performance electrochemical innovation, has announced a definitive commercial milestone: the G-100 Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Stack has officially attained TÜV certification.

Validating compliance with IEC 62282-2-100, this certification confirms the G-100’s safety architecture, manufacturing consistency and readiness for immediate integration into regulated global markets. A copy of the certificate is available here.

For Tier-1 system integrators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), this certification is a significant commercial accelerator. By providing validated, component-level safety evidence, Siltrax materially reduces “certification friction,” allowing partners to bypass redundant testing and accelerate the deployment of hydrogen-powered systems.

From Record-Setting Performance to Certified, Repeatable Hardware

This certification builds on Siltrax’s previously announced G-100 performance milestone, where independent third-party testing by TÜV Rheinland verified record-setting fuel-cell power density results from Siltrax’s silicon-based architecture. In that testing, the G-100 achieved up to 9.77 kW/L volumetric power density and up to 9.7 kW/kg gravimetric power density, establishing a new benchmark for size, weight and performance in hydrogen fuel cell stacks.

Siltrax is now translating that breakthrough into a certified, production-ready platform designed for real-world duty cycles and regulated markets.

Solving Downstream Challenges with Silicon Technology

For aviation, heavy transport and other high-duty and weight-critical applications, hydrogen adoption is often constrained by hardware limitations at the stack level. Siltrax’s proprietary silicon-based bipolar plate architecture — the first of its kind —directly addresses these constraints:

• Optimizing Power-to-Weight Ratios: The G-100 achieves a volumetric power density and gravimetric power density of 9.77 kW/L and 9.4 kW/kg, respectively. In mass-sensitive sectors like aerospace, this efficiency translates directly into increased payload capacity and extended operational range.
• Enhanced Durability and Reduced Downtime: Silicon substrates offer high thermal conductivity and structural rigidity, reducing thermal gradients and mechanical stress that commonly drive degradation in graphite- and metal-plate designs under sustained high-load operation.
• Certification-Ready Hardware: TÜV certification allows integrators to reuse component-level safety evidence, reducing the time and costs associated with downstream qualification and system-safety cases.

Notably, Siltrax’s record-setting test results were achieved using commercially available, off-the-shelf components beyond Siltrax’s proprietary bipolar plate and flow channel design, underscoring additional headroom for future gains as the company integrates tailored gas diffusion layers and membranes optimized for its high-precision architecture.

Power Density That Unlocks New Markets

Siltrax’s G-100 performance exceeds key long-term international targets that many in the industry are still working toward. For example, the G-100’s demonstrated volumetric power density surpasses Japan’s NEDO targets across multiple time horizons, and its stack-specific power outperforms U.S. Department of Energy USDRIVE targets for stack specific power. That combination of performance credibility and certification readiness enables faster commercial adoption in applications where every kilogram and cubic centimeter counts.

A Platform for Real-World Use Cases

“The TÜV certification is a critical business enabler,” said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Siltrax CEO. “We aren’t just building a more efficient fuel cell —we are providing a certified, safe and repeatable hardware platform. This allows our partners to bypass regulatory uncertainty and move straight to commercial application with full confidence in the product’s reliability.”

Siltrax is now actively scaling its operations to support deployment in three core business sectors:

• Aviation & Drones: Delivering the weight efficiencies required for viable commercial hydrogen-electric flight.
• Heavy Transportation: Enabling long-haul trucking and maritime fleets to meet emissions targets without sacrificing cargo volume.
• Distributed Energy Infrastructure: Providing modular, certified onsite power for mission-critical assets, including data centers and EV mega-charging hubs.

Manufacturing Readiness

Siltrax is scaling manufacturing with a focus on repeatability, quality controls and supply continuity. The company is now offering G-100 evaluation units to qualified OEMs and integrators, with evaluation units available now.

For more information or to request an evaluation unit or the certification evidence pack, contact Daniel Zafir (dzafir@siltrax.net).

About Siltrax

Siltrax re-engineers the economics of power through electrochemical innovation. By utilizing proprietary silicon-based bipolar plates, we leverage the mature industrial foundations of the photovoltaic industry to deliver next-generation PEM fuel cells with leading power density and longevity, translating directly into higher payloads, longer uptimes, and lower total cost of ownership. Headquartered in Sydney, Siltrax provides the high-intensity energy required to transform demanding industrial operations into high-efficiency, zero-emission assets.

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for Siltrax
leah@wilkinson.associates

– Published by The MIL Network

AACHEN, GERMANY – Newsaktuell – 4 February 2026 – Aachen, FEV has teamed up with Daimler Buses to create the first coach with a hydrogen fuel cell drive system. The starting point for the “H₂Coach” technology demonstrator, which is intended for testing purposes, was a conventional Setra coach. This marks an important step toward locally emission-free long-distance travel: short refueling times, ranges of at least 800 kilometers per tank filling, and quiet operation underscore its practicality.

Daimler Buses and FEV jointly carried out the complete system transformation from diesel drive to fuel cell electric vehicle. After creating the overall vehicle concept, FEV took over the mechanical and E/E integration. One distinguishing feature is that the individual components deployed – including fuel cells, high-voltage components (such as batteries and electric motors), H₂ tank assemblies, control units including software – originate from different technology platforms from Daimler Buses and Daimler Truck. FEV integrated the systems into a functional powertrain in the overall vehicle.

An important factor in the development process was safety. Measures were developed for various crash load cases as well as for functional, high-voltage, and hydrogen safety.

“The ‘H₂ Coach’ impressively demonstrates how complex subsystems can be integrated into a testable, safe complete vehicle when vehicle, powertrain, and E/E expertise come from a single source,” said Klaus Wolff, Vice President Project Management at FEV. “With our one-stop-shop approach, we quickly and efficiently delivered the desired customized solution to our customer – from concept to approval.”

After successful approval by German technical inspection authority TÜV and passing electromagnetic compatibility tests, FEV handed over the vehicle to Daimler Buses in the summer of 2025 after approximately two years of joint project work.

Hashtag: #FEV

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

University of Auckland researchers have discovered different microbes can be used to reduce the carbon footprint of treating wastewater.

Associate Professor Wei-Qin Zhuang and his team from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have been tackling the problem of reducing the carbon footprint of removing nitrates from water.

Nitrate removal needed to occur before the treated water can be discharged into the environment, Zhuang said, as it encouraged the growth of algae and caused other problems for the natural environment.

In domestic wastewater, the main source of nitrate was human urine.

The kind of microbes commonly used to turn nitrate into nitrogen gas fed on organic carbons for energy, in order to process nitrates – and they released by-products like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, which contributed to the carbon footprint.

Carbon emissions from wastewater treatment were thought to make up a small, but preventable percentage of many countries’ overall carbon footprints.

Zhuang said his team had discovered two different kinds of microbes that existed in wastewater already and could be used to remove nitrate. One used hydrogen gas as fuel to turn nitrate into harmless nitrogen gas and water, and the other fed on sulphur, turning nitrates into sulfate and nitrogen gas.

These microbes weren’t as common, so they needed to be duplicated and re-introduced into bioreactors to do the job.

“When wastewater flows through, we provide hydrogen or sulphur for these microbes to use, and then they will reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas.”

Zhuang said both systems created less waste than their organic carbon-eating alternatives, avoided greenhouse-gas-intensive chemicals and reduced the need for trucked-in chemicals, making them well suited to local communities.

They could also be suitable methods for treating drinking water, he said.

Earlier this year, the country’s largest-ever drinking water survey found tens of thousands of rural New Zealanders [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/574594/country-s-largest-study-into-drinking-water-nitrates-reveals-rural-freshwater-at-risk could be drinking water with harmful nitrate levels, with 5 percent of the private bore samples tested exceeding the national maximum nitrate guidelines.

Health data has shown high nitrate levels can be dangerous for babies and can affect people’s health over time.

According to Zhuang, these microbe set-ups could be useful for small communities or private land owners to treat their own drinking water supplies.

“Using microbes to clean water on-site gives communities a safety net, while long-term solutions, like better land management, are put in place,” he said.

Zhuang and his team were now testing these systems in real-world trials with water utilities and industry partners, aiming to make them easy for councils and communities across the country to use.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 19 December 2025 – In celebration of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vingroup simultaneously commences 11 projects, including: the Olympic Sports Urban Area in Hanoi featuring the Trong Dong (Bronze Drum) Stadium; the Ha Long Xanh and Cam Ranh mega urban complexes; a social housing project in Hung Yen; the Song Tri Ward Urban Area in Ha Tinh; Vincom Plaza Vinh in Nghe An; the Tuan Chau Public Park in Quang Ninh; the Ben Thanh – Can Gio high-speed railway; two wind power plants; and the VinMetal steel manufacturing plant in Vung Ang. These are foundational projects in urban development, infrastructure, green energy, and heavy industry, contributing strong momentum for future growth.

Among these activities, the groundbreaking ceremony of Vingroup’s Olympic Sports Urban Area Investment and Construction Project in Hanoi served as the central broadcast location for the live-televised program marking the commencement, inauguration, and technical opening of projects and works celebrating the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The event was honored by the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Duy Ngoc, along with leaders of the Party and State, leaders of central ministries and agencies, and the leadership of Hanoi.

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that the projects and works commenced, inaugurated, and technically opened on this occasion are large-scale developments with complex technical requirements, playing a particularly important role in socio-economic development, with several record-setting features. First, they represent the largest total investment ever, amounting to 3.4 quadrillion VND. Second, they feature the highest level of private sector participation, with nearly 2.8 quadrillion VND, accounting for 82% of total investment. Third, they include the single largest investment project to date, the Olympic Sports Urban Area, with total capital of 925 trillion VND.

“These are critical foundations for a synchronized and modern infrastructure system that meets the country’s development needs in the new era. They are key links in the effort to build a peaceful, stable, deeply integrated, prosperous, civilized, thriving, and happy Vietnam, steadfastly advancing towards socialism,” the Prime Minister said.

The Olympic Sports Urban Area investment and construction project covers more than 9,171 hectares, with total investment of approximately VND 925 trillion. This marks the largest urban area in Vietnam, spanning 11 communes. Located at the southern gateway of Hanoi, the Olympic Sports Urban Area sits at the intersection of Ring Road 3.5, Ring Road 4, National Highway 1A, the Phap Van – Cau Gie expressway, and especially adjacent to Ngoc Hoi Station, opening significant potential for sports urban development integrated with modern public transport.

The project is planned into four zones with the goal of creating a sports city and service city associated with a world-class sports complex, enhancing Hanoi’s position on the continental and global sports and cultural map and creating sustainable development momentum for decades.

The heart of the sports complex is a national-level facility, the Trong Dong Stadium, developed on an area of 73.3 hectares with a capacity of up to 135,000 seats. It is designed as a FIFA-standard stadium with the world’s largest seating capacity and the largest fully retractable roof. Beyond its record-breaking scale, Trong Dong Stadium is also one of the most distinctive stadiums globally, featuring design elements inspired by Vietnamese culture, richly incorporating Dong Son bronze drum motifs, creating a structure that is both modern and symbolic of Vietnamese spirit.

Notably, the stadium is positioned as a green and smart facility, integrating AI with the ability to replace the pitch surface within 6-10 hours; smart seats connected via 5G; real-time security and crowd management; water collection and recycling systems saving 70% of clean water; heat and UV resistance; and natural ventilation to reduce air conditioning energy consumption and noise. The stadium also includes a dedicated VVIP area meeting standards for hosting international heads of state at major events.

The Trong Dong Stadium is expected to be completed in August 2028.

In urban development, alongside Hanoi, in Quang Ninh Province, Vingroup and Vinhomes have broken ground on the Ha Long Xanh integrated urban project in Ha An Ward, Quang Ninh Province. Located adjacent to Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a total scale of more than 4,100 hectares, among the largest in Vietnam, Ha Long Xanh is planned as a “globally-connected wonder city by the heritage bay.” The project is connected domestically and internationally by the Hanoi – Hai Phong – Ha Long – Van Don – Mong Cai expressway, a network of airports and international seaports, and especially the Hanoi – Quang Ninh high-speed railway currently registered for investment by VinSpeed High-Speed Railway Investment and Development Joint Stock Company. The Ha Long Xanh integrated urban area is expected to bring its first components into operation from 2028.

Following the Ha Long Xanh coastal mega city, a consortium of investors including Vinhomes Joint Stock Company, Cam Ranh Investment Joint Stock Company, and VinES Energy Solutions Joint Stock Company has broken ground on the Cam Ranh Bay Coastal Urban Area project. Covering more than 1,254 hectares, the project is planned to maximally preserve the pristine beauty of one of the world’s most beautiful bays, positioning Cam Ranh as an ideal place of residence for elite communities both domestically and internationally, while elevating Khanh Hoa’s standing in the South Central Coast region.

The next urban project launched is the Song Tri Ward Urban Area in Ha Tinh, covering 84.12 hectares. With an integrated system of schools, medical centers, parks, and commercial and entertainment facilities, the Song Tri Ward Urban Area is one of the largest urban projects in the locality, contributing to improved quality of life for residents.

In the social housing segment, Vingroup continues to affirm its pioneering role by breaking ground on the Social Housing Project in Pho Hien Ward, Hung Yen Province, covering 31.1 hectares with 25 apartment buildings. Beyond meeting essential housing needs for workers, the project provides an integrated and superior all in one amenities system including schools, medical facilities, parks, and parking areas. The project is expected to be handed over in 2027.

On the same day, in Nghe An, Vincom Plaza Vinh is officially inaugurated, marking the presence of the 90th Vincom shopping center nationwide and standing as one of the most modern shopping centers in the North Central region. Located on Quang Trung Street, with a total floor area of more than 25,000 square meters forming the podium of a 37-story five-star hotel tower, a new symbol of the city, Vincom Plaza Vinh is not only a leading shopping, dining, and entertainment destination for local residents and visitors, but also the first of its kind in Nghe An to offer a fresh cultural experience space.

In the infrastructure sector, Vingroup officially broke ground on the Tuan Chau Public Park project in Tuan Chau Ward and Viet Hung Ward, Quang Ninh Province. This is a mega ecological, cultural, and sports park with a scale of more than 626 hectares, the largest in the country. The park is planned into four themed zones: Festival Park with a family connection theme; Sports Arena Park with a sports theme; Discovery Park with physical challenge activities; and Tranquil Forest Park with wellness and public forest themes. Each park’s design optimally leverages Ha Long’s mountain, forest, and green bay characteristics to deliver diverse experiences that combine sports activities, family and friend connections, nature exploration, energy renewal, and a balanced lifestyle within a modern urban rhythm.

The Tuan Chau Public Park is expected to come into operation in 2028, marking an important step in Vingroup’s strategy to create green, experience-rich spaces that deliver sustainable health and mental value for residents and visitors, while promoting tourism development in Northern Vietnam.

At the same time, at the Vinhomes Green Paradise Can Gio mega urban area in Ho Chi Minh City, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ben Thanh – Can Gio railway project also took place. This is the first high-speed railway project in Vietnam. The line has a length of 54 km, a maximum speed of 350 km/h, with its starting point at Ben Thanh and its terminus at Vinhomes Green Paradise Can Gio. Once operational, expected in the fourth quarter of 2028, the line will open a new era for national railway infrastructure, driving development in commerce, tourism, real estate, and especially the marine economy for Ho Chi Minh City and the entire Southeast region.

In the green energy sector, VinEnergo Energy Joint Stock Company launched two large-scale projects including the Eco Wind Ky Anh Wind Power Plant and the Ky Anh Wind Power Plant. The Eco Wind Ky Anh Wind Power Plant has a capacity of 498 MW with expected annual output of 1,322.4 GWh. The Ky Anh Wind Power Plant has a capacity of 400 MW and is expected to supply approximately 1,053.3 GWh per year. Both plants will build substations and double-circuit 500 kV transmission lines to connect to the Ha Tinh – Vung Ang 500 kV line, contributing to national electricity output.

With total output of more than 2,375 GWh of renewable electricity per year and commercial operation expected in the fourth quarter of 2028, the two wind power plants mark a strategic step in clean energy transition and the realization of Vietnam’s Net Zero goal by 2050.

Also in Vung Ang, Vingroup officially launched the VinMetal steel manufacturing plant, marking a milestone in heavy industry. With phase one capacity of 5-6 million tons per year and total capacity across three phases reaching 20 million tons per year, VinMetal aims to become a leading high-technology steel complex in the region, producing hot-rolled steel, steel plates, special alloy steel, rail steel, and structural steel meeting international standards, which are strategic materials for Vietnam’s industrial development. The plant strictly complies with environmental regulations and is developed using an integrated BF-BOF large-scale steelmaking process.

The plant is expected to begin operation in 2027, enabling Vingroup to secure its own steel supply for real estate, infrastructure, and industrial manufacturing projects within the Vingroup ecosystem, while targeting exports. The plant will also create livelihoods for thousands of workers, positioning Ha Tinh as a new metallurgical center of the country.

With the simultaneous commencement and inauguration of 11 projects, Vingroup not only creates growth momentum, contributes to transforming urban landscapes, and accelerates national industrialization and modernization, affirming the service spirit and visionary capacity of the private enterprise sector, but also joins the Government in realizing the goal of placing Vietnam among the world’s top 30 economies by 2030.

Hashtag: #Vingroup

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

The Government has agreed to make changes to the health and safety regulations for the hydrogen sector, ensuring they are fit for purpose and support growth, Energy Minister Simon Watts and Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden say.

“The Government sees hydrogen as a valuable tool we can harness to kickstart economic growth. By harnessing its potential, we can drive innovation, create jobs, and position New Zealand as a leader in sustainable energy solutions,” Mr Watts says.

“Hydrogen has an important role in our future energy mix. It can support sectors that are difficult or impractical to electrify – such as heavy transport and industry – to reduce emissions while keeping our economy growing.

“To unlock hydrogen’s full potential, we need a regulatory framework that supports growth and innovation rather than getting in the way.”

“While on our nationwide health and safety roadshow, I heard that because current safety requirements were not developed with hydrogen in mind, they are now preventing the safe development and use of hydrogen technologies,” says Ms van Velden.

“We have worked closely with the sector to ensure health and safety regulations relating to hydrogen are fit for purpose and remove unnecessary compliance costs without compromising health and safety.

“We want our safety regulations to strike the right balance in allowing businesses to pick the technologies that work best for them, while still keeping workers and others safe.”

The 10 changes the Government have agreed to make include technical amendments to outdated provisions known to prevent businesses from adopting new practices and creates new requirements where clarity is needed now. They include:

setting specific requirements for hydrogen fuelling stations and cryogenic liquid hydrogen
providing for easier approval of hydrogen appliances and fittings
allowing alternatives to odorisation for hydrogen
allowing Multi-Element Gas Containers, commonly used overseas for storage and transport
enabling Safe Work Instruments and new safety instruments to set requirements as the sector evolves updating references to newer standards for transporting dangerous goods and hazardous areas.

“By making these changes, we are delivering a key priority under the Hydrogen Action Plan which was released in November 2024,” Mr Watts says.

“We need businesses, innovators, and investors to grasp and make the most of the opportunities at hand. By cutting this red tape we can unlock faster growth of the sector, drive more jobs, and deliver real benefits to our energy system, climate, and economy.”

MIL OSI

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — IperionX Limited (IperionX) (NASDAQ: IPX, ASX: IPX) is pleased to announce a project with Carver Pump Company (Carver Pump), a leading U.S. manufacturer of mission-critical pumps for the U.S. Navy, to accelerate the production of critical long lead time titanium components for naval shipbuilding.

Carver Pump has placed an initial purchase order with IperionX for prototype titanium components. Leveraging its low-cost titanium metal powder and integrated in-house manufacturing, IperionX will produce and test cost competitive casting replacements for pump systems deployed across U.S. Navy surface vessels.

The Carver Pump purchase order marks a key milestone in the IperionX and Carver Pump partnership, which has now advanced from the project planning phase into prototyping. This progression has been enabled by the steady-state production of titanium metal powder from IperionX’s recently commissioned Titanium Production Facility in Virginia.

Titanium components are essential for U.S. Navy pump systems due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, corrosion resistance and ability to withstand extreme marine environments. However supply chain constraints for traditionally cast titanium parts have created bottlenecks in naval ship construction and maintenance. Lead times for critical pump components produced via conventional casting often exceed 12 months, contributing to potential machine and ship downtime.

The IperionX / Carver Pump project is designed to deliver step-change improvements in lead times. Under the project each titanium component is expected to be produced in less than one week using IperionX’s high-quality, low-cost domestically produced titanium metal powder and advanced manufacturing capabilities.

Successful completion of the prototyping and testing phase has the potential to lead to significantly larger scale production agreements with Carver Pump and the U.S. Navy for additional components using IperionX’s low-cost titanium powder and proprietary sintering technologies.

Anastasios (Taso) Arima, IperionX CEO said:

“Partnering with Carver Pump underscores how IperionX’s advanced titanium technologies can help resolve the most pressing supply chain challenges facing the U.S. defense industrial base, including for titanium casting and forging replacements. Transitioning from lead times measured in years to timelines measured in days allows us to better support on-time naval shipbuilding and sustainment, directly enhancing fleet readiness. We look forward to validating this capability in the prototyping phase and to advance towards scalable, enduring production programs with Carver Pump and the U.S. Navy.”

The full release can be found here.

About IperionX

IperionX is a leading American titanium metal and critical materials company – using patented metal technologies to produce high performance titanium alloys, from titanium minerals or scrap titanium, at lower energy, cost and carbon emissions.

Our Titan critical minerals project is the largest JORC-compliant mineral resource of titanium, rare earth and zircon minerals sands in the United States.

IperionX’s titanium metal and critical minerals are essential for advanced U.S. industries including space, aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, hydrogen, automotive and additive manufacturing.

About Carver Pump Company

Carver Pump built their first pumps in 1938, and the Carver Pump name has become synonymous with value. Carver is recognized as one of the world’s leading centrifugal pump companies, building pumps to the most demanding engineering specifications and military standards in the world. Carver Pump is headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, where our pumps are engineered and manufactured. A third-generation family ownership and commitment to American manufacturing give our customers, partners and employees confidence.

Forward Looking Statements

Information included in this release constitutes forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “continue”, and “guidance”, or other similar words and may include, without limitation, statements regarding plans, strategies and objectives of management, anticipated production or construction commencement dates and expected costs or production outputs.

Forward looking statements inherently involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance, and achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements. Relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices, foreign exchange fluctuations and general economic conditions, increased costs and demand for production inputs, the speculative nature of exploration and project development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and diminishing quantities or grades of reserves, the Company’s ability to comply with the relevant contractual terms to access the technologies, commercially scale its closed-loop titanium production processes, or protect its intellectual property rights, political and social risks, changes to the regulatory framework within which the Company operates or may in the future operate, environmental conditions including extreme weather conditions, recruitment and retention of personnel, industrial relations issues and litigation.

Forward looking statements are based on the Company and its management’s good faith assumptions relating to the financial, market, regulatory and other relevant environments that will exist and affect the Company’s business and operations in the future. The Company does not give any assurance that the assumptions on which forward looking statements are based will prove to be correct, or that the Company’s business or operations will not be affected in any material manner by these or other factors not foreseen or foreseeable by the Company or management or beyond the Company’s control.

Although the Company attempts and has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actual results, performance, achievements, or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and many events are beyond the reasonable control of the Company. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Forward looking statements in these materials speak only at the date of issue. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange listing rules, in providing this information the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of the forward-looking statements or to advise of any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Contacts

Anastasios (Taso) Arima, Founder and CEO
Toby Symonds, President
Dominic Allen, Chief Commercial Officer

Investors: investorrelations@iperionx.com
Media: media@iperionx.com
+1 980 237 8900
www.iperionx.com

– Published by The MIL Network

In the New Year, WorkSafe New Zealand is kicking off a nationwide initiative to strengthen health and safety practices in the manufacturing sector.

MIL OSI

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

SHENZHEN, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 December 2025 – On November 16, the 27th China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) successfully concluded at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. Over the course of three days, the event attracted more than 450,000 professional attendees from over 120 countries and regions—a year-on-year increase of 13%. More than 5,000 new products and innovations were unveiled on-site, accompanied by over 200 major concurrent events. The fair facilitated 1,023 business matchmaking sessions and investment deals, with the total value of intended transactions and investments exceeding RMB 170 billion. Once again, China’s technological innovation captured the world’s attention.

With the theme “Technology Empowering Industry, Driving Integration for a Shared Future,” this year’s CHTF showcased cutting-edge products, advanced technologies, and innovative solutions from a wide range of domestic and international industries. As the most popular and high-profile national-level event in Shenzhen this November, the fair ignited passion and enthusiasm across the tech innovation landscape. It not only reinforced its reputation as China’s “No. 1 Technology Exhibition,” but also cemented its status as the “World’s Leading Innovation Fair,” serving as a global hub for top-tier technologies and a bellwether for future industrial development.

1. CHTF Showcases a “Clash of Titans” in Technology, Expanding Global Innovation Horizons

The 27th China Hi-Tech Fair featured 22 major exhibition zones covering strategic sectors such as national-level equipment, artificial intelligence and robotics, semiconductors and integrated circuits, consumer electronics, low-altitude economy, and commercial aerospace. It offered a comprehensive view of the latest global technological advancements and China’s cutting-edge innovations. Over 90% of the physical exhibits at this year’s fair represented high-end, precision, and advanced technologies, with more than 20% being debut products unveiled for the first time.

More than 40 central and state-owned enterprises, including China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, CNOOC, CGN, China Southern Power Grid, and China Electric Equipment Group, showcased their core technologies in intelligent manufacturing. Major breakthroughs such as the Long March rocket, HaiKui-1 platform, Hualong One reactor, “Shenzhen Star” APSTAR-6D satellite, and EH216-S autonomous passenger aircraft demonstrated China’s innovation-driven solutions and stirred national pride.

Over 2,000 leading enterprises, research institutions, and tech competitions—including BYD, Tencent, Huawei, Honor, Empyrean Technology, Guangming Laboratory, Unitree Robotics, Cyberdog, Bourne Optical, and the Dexterous Hand Competition—brought cutting-edge technologies that electrified the venue. Highlights such as the OpenHarmony ecosystem, Ascend 384 Super Node, domestic AI ecosystem exhibitions, satellite-enabled long-distance robotic surgery, and the world’s first MRI with integrated video capture turned heads and drew consistent crowds.

Interactive experiences like robot combat, 3D world generation models, eVTOL manned aircraft, and AI-generated artwork created a buzzing, high-energy atmosphere. The overwhelming turnout and excitement underscored the audience’s growing anticipation for how technology will reshape everyday life.

2. CHTF Becomes a Core Engine for Resource Allocation, Showcasing National Strategic Strength in Regional Synergy

CHTF has firmly established itself as a key platform for promoting regional collaborative innovation, optimizing resource allocation, and advancing market integration. For the first time, this year’s CHTF introduced a dedicated exhibition zone for “Regional Economic and Technological Innovation Achievements.” From clean energy initiatives in the Northwest to the booming digital economy in the Southeast, and from high-end equipment manufacturing in the Northeast to frontier technologies in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the zone highlighted the latest breakthroughs in scientific research, independent innovation, and industrial integration across various regions.

The Shanghai delegation featured cutting-edge projects including a model of the “China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR),” high-temperature plasma treatment technologies, a megacity-level mobility data platform, and a magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage and fueling demonstration project. The Yuhang delegation from Hangzhou showcased impressive technologies such as the Revo 2 bionic industrial dexterous hand, graphene composite fibers, a DNA microarray synthesizer using TFT semiconductor technology, and self-developed domestic chips. The Zhangjiagang delegation drew crowds with exhibits including a scaled model of the “Tianlong-3” large liquid launch vehicle, a heavy-duty six-rotor drone, and inspection robots. From Futian District in Shenzhen, the tech delegation presented innovations like the NAO robot, Linglong robot, IoT operating systems, AI glasses, superconducting quantum chips, quantum arbitrary waveform generators, and electron beam lithography machines—demonstrating the vast possibilities of technological advancement.

These regional achievements in tech innovation and industry integration, amplified through the national platform that is CHTF, are fostering a collaborative, complementary innovation ecosystem. This synergy is injecting powerful momentum into China’s path toward modernization and high-quality development.

Moreover, over 30 universities and research institutions—including Tsinghua University, Peking University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Fudan University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, RIOS Lab, and Shenzhen Institute of Computing Sciences—brought their latest research to the fair. Notable innovations included the PicoRio 1.0 and 2.0 processor chips, a multidimensional single-molecule dynamic imaging platform, China’s first high-throughput intelligent peptide synthesizer, a respiratory intervention robot for early lung cancer detection and treatment, virtual hand selection technology in VR environments, electrostatic artificial muscles, organoids/organs-on-chips, and biomimetic microsystems.

These future-oriented breakthroughs created vibrant focal points throughout the venue, becoming signature highlights that drew sustained attention and enthusiasm from attendees.

3. Global Intelligence, China’s Showcase: CHTF Continues to Elevate China’s Hi-Tech “Golden Name Card”

This year’s CHTF attracted participation from international organizations, leading enterprises, and industry leaders representing over 120 countries and regions—including Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Brazil, Thailand, Pakistan, and Singapore. Dedicated exhibition areas for International Sister Cities and Belt and Road International Cooperation were set up to highlight outstanding achievements in leveraging technological innovation to support high-quality development under the Belt and Road Initiative.

On the first day alone, the CHTF hosted a special session focused on the new energy and energy storage industries in Shandong Province, attracting over 30 international buyers from key global markets such as the UK, Russia, Bulgaria, Canada, Mexico, Australia, the UAE, Jordan, and South Korea. Senior decision-makers—including general managers, CEOs, CTOs, and procurement heads—engaged in direct, in-depth discussions on-site, laying the groundwork for future substantial orders and long-term partnerships.

4. CHTF Establishes a National-Level Platform for Impact: 1,023 Deals Signed, RMB 170 Billion in Transactions—The Year’s Premier Innovation Event

During its three-day run, the 27th China Hi-Tech Fair hosted over 200 major events, including industry summits, professional forums, product launches, project roadshows, technical seminars, and prestigious awards ceremonies. Highlights included the China Hi-Tech Forum, the AI Industry Innovation Forum Series, the Low-Altitude Economy Industry Summit, the Semiconductor Industry Ecosystem Forum, and the Industry-Education Integration Forum. Dozens of renowned academicians—such as Liu Daxiang, Harry Shum, Xiang Jinwu, and Meng Jianmin—joined government officials, university scholars, and enterprise leaders to explore the latest global trends and emerging ideas across technology, economics, and finance.

Beyond showcasing frontier technologies, this year’s CHTF placed a strong emphasis on results and transaction facilitation. Through the “1-3-6” strategy—where international buyers accounted for 10%, in-province buyers 30%, and out-of-province buyers 60%—the fair positioned itself as a vital hub for high-tech global cooperation and commercialization.

The Global Sourcing Matchmaking Conference and the Investment & Financing Matchmaking Event brought together 1,036 buyer delegations from countries and regions including the UK, Russia, Canada, and India. Over 3,000 domestic and international investment institutions participated onsite, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital, and IDG Capital. The event floor was abuzz with negotiations, business card exchanges, and intent-based partnerships.

With 1,023 deals signed and over RMB 170 billion in intended transactions and investment, CHTF once again confirmed Shenzhen’s status as a global innovation hub—driving high-level exchanges in high-tech industries, accelerating the transformation of research into real-world applications, and empowering the rise of pioneering tech enterprises.

5. China’s Premier Tech Expo Never Ends—See You Next Year

This three-day technology extravaganza offered a comprehensive review of past innovation achievements and a deep exploration of future innovation strategies—right in the golden autumn of Shenzhen this November. While the 27th China Hi-Tech Fair concludes today, this world-class showcase of high-tech advancement is far from over. At the forefront of global innovation, CHTF will continue to lead with a pioneering spirit, driving forward scientific progress and shaping the future of society.

The momentum continues, the brilliance endures. The 28th China Hi-Tech Fair will once again be held at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. We look forward to reuniting next year to write another chapter of innovation in Shenzhen—where tomorrow’s breakthroughs will redefine the world as we know it.

Hashtag: #ChinaHi-TechFair

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

The Hon Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance and Minister for Economic Growth and the Hon Simon Watts, Minister of Climate Change and Minister for Energy, welcomed the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP, Treasurer and the Hon Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy to Auckland on 5 December 2025 for the third Australia-New Zealand Climate and Finance Ministers’ 2+2 Dialogue.

Ministers agreed that climate action and more investment in renewable energy are essential to putting downward pressure on power prices and cost of living for New Zealand and Australian households and businesses and enhancing the productivity, security and stability of our respective energy systems.

They agreed that the global transition to low emissions economies powered by cheaper, cleaner energy presents significant economic opportunities with increasing demand for products, technologies and investments that help address climate change. Both countries have taken significant steps to grow renewable energy, including to support enhanced energy security during the transition. They welcomed new Nationally Determined Contributions submitted by both nations as critical investment signals designed to seize the economic opportunities of the energy transition and deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. Our uniquely close relationship enables us to work together, to capture economic opportunities, boost trade and growth, address shared policy challenges, and deliver real benefits to businesses, households, Māori and First Nations Australians. 

Building on commitments made at the Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting on 9 August 2025, Ministers discussed supporting trans-Tasman energy affordability, security and regulatory alignment, economic growth and productivity, cooperation in and with the Pacific, and the evolution of the 2+2 dialogue.

Climate pressures are reshaping the environment in which Australia and New Zealand operate, with increasing impacts on supply chains, infrastructure, and regional economies. Ministers recognised the importance of strengthening the resilience of our people, industries and communities, and reaffirmed that regionally driven economic development and deeper integration are central to safeguarding long-term prosperity.

Ministers noted the progress each has made on climate action since the last 2+2 Dialogue on 30 July 2024. For New Zealand, this includes publishing the second emissions reduction plan (ERP2) for the period 2026 to 2030 and a National Adaptation Framework. For Australia, this includes the national Net Zero Plan, comprising 6 sectoral emission reduction plans, a National Adaptation Plan and the National Climate Risk Assessment. 

Discussions and commitments 

Supporting trans-Tasman energy affordability, security and regulatory alignment

The transition to low emissions economies, underpinned by reliable, abundant and affordable renewable energy represents a once in a generation opportunity for Australia and New Zealand. Both countries have taken significant steps to grow renewable energy, including to strengthen energy security during the transition.

Australia and New Zealand reinforced their commitment to working together on energy issues. Ministers agreed to continue to align regulatory frameworks, reduce barriers to investments, and ensure sustainable finance systems are interoperable.

Australia and New Zealand Ministers agreed to empower consumers and boost energy productivity by:

co-invest ~NZ$1 million (AU$0.9 million) and Australia ~AU4.1 million (NZ$4.6 million) to upgrade the joint Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program registration system to facilitate better access to cheaper, cleaner household products and bring down costs for industry, including by improving operations and operability, reducing compliance burden and accelerating the adoption of energy efficient products.
further align regulatory settings for consumer energy technologies, by working towards developing a joint approach on enabling electric vehicle (EV) chargers to have smart functionality. This follows on from the Menezes report recommendations on aligning green technology standards.
develop and align Vehicle to grid (V2G) standards for EVs to ensure market alignment. 

facilitate direct engagement between the Australian solar and battery industry and regulators with their New Zealand counterparts to support knowledge exchange and trade arising from Australia’s successful Cheaper Home Batteries program and related policies, as well as to identify further opportunities for trans-Tasman regulatory alignment on solar and battery systems. 

These new commitments will support businesses and households to achieve energy savings, enhance efforts to accelerate EV charging locations, reduce compliance complexity, and unlocking scalable market opportunities for trans-Tasman providers and local businesses. 

Realising the economic opportunities of the net zero transition

Building on commitments made at the 2024 2+2 Dialogue, Ministers also acknowledged the work led by Bioenergy Australia and its New Zealand members to develop a trans-Tasman Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Strategy. Ministers recognised that scaling a competitive regional SAF industry is important to attract investment and strengthen regional fuel security, and enable Pacific partners to access SAF. New Zealand welcomed the announcement of Australia’s $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program to support domestic low carbon liquid fuel production, and the opportunity to share learnings on SAF policy development. 

Ministers emphasised the importance of clear net zero plans and internationally relevant standards for attracting investment, and agreed to continue bilateral and international engagement to develop interoperable and comparable sustainable finance frameworks. These frameworks will provide clarity for businesses and investors and support individual countries to finance their net zero transformation. Australia welcomed the expansion of New Zealand’s sustainable finance taxonomy to the energy and construction sectors, and the opportunities it brings across our Single Economic Market through the continued alignment of sector coverage, technical criteria and implementation through market use pilots led by the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute and New Zealand’s Centre for Sustainable Finance. 

Ministers welcomed progress in developing internationally aligned Guarantee of Origin schemes since their commitment at the 2024 2+2 Dialogue. Australia’s successful launch of its Guarantee of Origin scheme in November 2025 represents a significant step in certifying the emissions intensity of green hydrogen, sustainable fuels, and green metals. New Zealand’s November 2024 Hydrogen Action Plan reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to supporting access to internationally aligned certification schemes. Ministers acknowledged the importance of working together to maintain close alignment between emerging certification frameworks and to support a consolidated, transparent and trusted trans-Tasman market for clean energy products.

Ministers reaffirmed the importance of supporting agricultural emissions reductions to enable this important economic sector to thrive. They welcomed the investment and action demonstrated in both countries from government in partnership with industry, including the AU$300 million invested in Australia’s Zero Net Emissions Agriculture CRC and New Zealand’s over NZ$400 million invested to accelerate the development and availability of new tools and technology to reduce on-farm agricultural emissions, recognising also the potential benefit and value of this work in farming systems internationally. Ministers committed to expanding technical collaboration and information sharing on livestock emissions reductions.   

Expanding collaboration on economic growth and productivity

Ministers discussed the importance of coordinating respective economic reform programmes, including New Zealand’s Going for Growth agenda and Australia’s productivity agenda, targeting lowering business costs, reducing regulatory burden, and boosting productivity.

Australia and New Zealand will establish a working group of government and industry to share information and collaborate on solutions to help ensure insurance remains accessible.

Ministers agreed that Treasuries should continue to explore opportunities for closer alignment as we progress development of our countries’ payment systems, licensing and digital assets reforms. They noted the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and Reserve Bank of New Zealand are exploring options to more closely align non-financial risk management and tiering of banking regulation. 

Ministers agreed on the benefits of aligning our building codes and standards, and tasked officials to take this work forward. 

Australia and New Zealand agreed to work together on the future of aligned product safety settings.

Pacific Partnership

Ministers recalled that Pacific Island Forum Leaders, at their meeting in Honiara in September 2025, reaffirmed that climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of peoples of the Pacific. Ministers reaffirmed Australia and New Zealand’s commitment to working together with Pacific partners to ensure the resilience and prosperity of the region.

New Zealand welcomed Australia’s agreement struck with Türkiye on COP31 hosting arrangements which provides a unique opportunity to amplify Pacific voices, grow the global clean energy economy and drive strong outcomes for our region. 

MIL OSI

Source: Ara Ake

MIL OSI

Source: BusinessNZ

MIL OSI

For a government facing blackouts and business closures in an election year, importing gas is an attractive choice. For others, it’s the worst possible option.

When the government unveiled its long-awaited energy package earlier this year, the centrepiece was a promise to fast-track the import of overseas natural gas. Ministers said it would keep the lights on and protect industry as local gas reserves run dry.

But the response from almost every corner – other than the gas industry itself – was a collective groan. Liquified Natural Gas, or LNG, is an answer of sorts to the country’s energy security crisis, but not one most were hoping for.

Not only is imported gas expensive, it is also bad for the climate, and leaves us dependent on volatile global markets.

“LNG is not a good option for New Zealand. It’s a duress position, a band-aid,” says energy commentator Larry Blair.

Even the government’s own independent review warned LNG should only ever be a last resort. Frontier Economics, which led the official Electricity Market Review, warned that importing LNG would expose New Zealand to international price shocks and make local exporters less competitive.

At best, it will buy the country a bit of time while it seeks a replacement for its dwindling domestic gas supply, Blair says. “It’s like jamming a finger in the dike to hold back the flood.”

For a government staring down the barrel of blackouts and business closures, however, LNG is an attractive short-term response. A terminal can be built relatively quickly, and it is a reliable fuel source that will slot easily into our current energy and electricity systems.

But critics – from consumer advocates to business groups to environmental lobbyists – say taking a short-term fix will only create another long-term problem, by locking New Zealand into its costly LNG investment even after the immediate need to shore up the gas supply is over.

It will also do little to fix our energy market’s deeper structural problems and much to delay the inevitable transition to cheaper, greener, renewable energy, they say.

“Putting in LNG is counter-intuitive, because there are other options,” says Consumer’s Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge. “It doesn’t make logical sense that you would buy expensive fuel when you have free fuel here – geothermal, wind and solar.”

As ministers decide whether to proceed with an LNG terminal next month, they are also making a much larger choice: whether New Zealand doubles down on fossil fuels in the name of “security,” or throws its weight behind a home-grown energy system.

“We’re at a crossroads here. We could have this low-cost renewables future but we’re snatching defeat from the jaws of victory,” says Fuge.

“New Zealand has always had an advantage because we had access to cheap, renewable power. Expensive electricity isn’t good for consumers, and it isn’t good for New Zealand Inc.”

Fuel security or fossil security?

The idea of importing LNG barely featured in energy debates until 2024, when Prime Minister Christopher Luxon declared an “energy security crisis”. Low hydro inflows and soaring electricity prices forced some factories to close, while families struggled to pay their bills.

The crisis worsened the following year due to gas shortages, highlighting New Zealand’s inter-connected energy problems: “dry-year risk” due to a lack of rain filling the hydro dams, and plummeting natural gas production – meaning gas could no longer be relied on to fill the dry-year gap, let alone its more frequent role in producing electricity during peak demand.

In response, ministers promised to “fix the fundamentals” – chiefly by restoring investor confidence in fossil fuels. Since then, the coalition has lifted the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, announced a $200m co-investment for gas, and launched the LNG procurement process. The government argues these are pragmatic moves to stabilise supply while it works toward its stated goal of doubling renewables.

Critics see something else: a retreat to “fossil security”. Instead of prioritising the next phase of wind, solar, geothermal and storage – technologies that already supply more than 80 percent of New Zealand’s electricity – policy now orbits around extending the life of gas.

“To me, importing gas is like giving an addict just enough of their drug to keep them hooked,” says 350 Aotearoa co-director Alva Feldmeier. “You keep the country and the network dependent for a bit longer-making it harder to quit-rather than supporting the transition we need to make now.”

The dismantling of alternatives

The coalition insists the country’s energy problems stem from the last government’s policies, particularly its 2018 oil and gas offshore exploration ban, and a target to achieve 100 percent renewable electricity by 2030.

At the announcement of its energy policy in October, Energy Minister Simon Watts said decisions by the last Labour government had “scared off investment and left us dangerously short of reliable backup generation”, while Luxon previously accused Labour of “screwing the scrum” by banning offshore oil and gas exploration.

Its response, prior to the October announcement, was to dismantle or delay nearly every major Labour-led initiative designed to develop a cleaner, cheaper and more reliable power system.

Among the casualties were the NZ Battery Project, which was exploring both pumped hydro at Lake Onslow and an alternative “portfolio approach”, such as flexible geothermal, demand response, grid scale batteries and hydrogen biomass.

That was scrapped in late 2023. Soon afterwards, the Gas Transition Plan, designed to manage declining reserves and ensure supply during the shift away from fossil fuels, was shelved. Plans for offshore-wind farms first stalled in Parliament, and then again because of competing mining proposals. And the GIDI Fund – which co-funded industrial electrification – was cancelled, leaving many firms without support to electrify or switch to other, cleaner fuels.

Each move narrowed New Zealand’s energy options. And when the crisis hit, ministers had to respond quickly, with few alternatives left available.

“The coalition made a series of decisions early on in its political term that laid the ground for the position it now finds itself in,” says Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman. “They closed doors to the solutions to the problem – largely because they really believed the oil and gas ban was the cause of the problem, and therefore that reinstating exploration would be a magical fix.”

Yet documents from MBIE show the Gas Transition Plan – developed alongside industry – was not driven by the ban, but an attempt to manage risk as local fields depleted. Its stated aim was to maintain secure, affordable supply while planning for gradual decline. Scrapping it left the sector without a clear framework for how to replace that supply – or how to avoid over-reliance on high-priced imports.

Both the cancellation of the gas plan, and the shelving of the other policies, are consistent with a preference for a more hands-off approach in the energy space.

Ministers have repeatedly said they want the market – not the state – to drive investment. They argue large government projects such as Onslow distort markets and deter private capital. As former energy minister Simeon Brown put it when announcing Onslow’s cancellation: “We believe that will give the sector the tools to be able to make that investment, rather than the government getting involved, which has a chilling effect on the electricity market.”

Relying on the market would be fine, says Consumer’s Paul Fuge, if the market was working as it should. But electricity prices are at least 40 percent higher than when the market model was introduced. And most of the country’s generation capacity was built decades ago, before the current system began.

“The bottom line is we haven’t invested in enough new generation at the rate required because the incentives aren’t there,” Fuge says. “The system is flawed. But you don’t need to throw the baby out with the bathwater – just change the system.”

Because energy assets are generational, there needs to be a cross-party plan, Fuge says.

“Ideally, we would have a long-term energy strategy that doesn’t lurch from cycle to cycle.”

Since the election, the coalition has leaned into its market-led approach while promising to “double renewables”. But there is no current plan for how that doubling will happen – outside speeding up consents – or how we might store the energy created from the sun or wind at scale.

It has reversed the offshore oil and gas ban, but exploration is yet to get underway (possibly because the ban was not the reason for the lack of exploration in the first place). The government also recently released a draft strategy for geothermal energy, and announced statements on biomass and biogas, but it still has no overarching energy strategy, despite earlier promises one was imminent.

Energy Minister Simon Watts told RNZ this is because the government is prioritising “action and implementation” over strategy, by focussing on investing in security of supply and building better markets to improve affordability.

Frustration over the perceived lack of direction is widespread, coming from both energy suppliers and consumers.

Karen Boyes, from the Major Electricity Users’ Group (MEUG), says she agrees with some commentators that the previous government’s policies may have had considerable unintended consequences on the electricity market.

“Generators have told us that the offshore gas exploration ban and Lake Onslow project created uncertainty which put the brakes on much needed investment in new generation,” Boyes says.

“But on the positive side there was work well underway under the previous government on developing an energy strategy for the country, even if some stakeholders might not have agreed with all elements of it.”

The supply problem

Since the government first began investigating LNG, gas supply woes have only become more acute. Gas production from Taranaki fields is now at a 40-year low and dropping faster than anyone predicted.

Industries from dairy to food processing rely on that supply; hospitals and schools are still plumbed for gas heating. One independent estimate said gas dependent sectors alone contribute around 20 percent of national GDP both directly and indirectly, along with over 500,000 jobs.

As shortages hit last winter, several North Island manufacturers were unable to renew gas contracts. Some temporarily closed, or shut down parts of their business. For them, LNG is a secure option, in case new domestic gas supply is not forthcoming or biogas cannot be produced at scale.

The problem with LNG – other than its hefty emissions footprint – is cost. The Frontier report warned that developing an LNG terminal – estimated to cost between $140m-$295m for even a small-scale option – “would make no economic sense” if the gas was used only as a backup.

The gas itself would be far more expensive than both domestic gas and new renewables. The electricity it produces will cost an estimated $200-$400 per megawatt-hour compared with about $135 for wind or solar, according to recent Electricity Authority estimates.

There is no guarantee that businesses would not fail at that price, industry experts say.

Because of that, the spectre of an LNG import terminal also creates uncertainty, the MEUG’s Boyes says.

“We need to understand what the delivered cost will be for direct users of gas, and how the use of LNG for electricity generation will affect the spot price of electricity.”

Jeffrey Clarke, the chief executive of industry body GasNZ, acknowledges the costs for an LNG terminal seem high.

“But in the context of the overall size of the economy and the benefits you get from not suddenly running out of gas, it’s not that huge.”

Clarke says New Zealanders should see LNG as an insurance policy – an interim measure that will buy us time – but that the decision should not be made in isolation.

“We should do it together with a clear, long-term strategy for energy in New Zealand. We need to be asking, how do we get from where we are now to where we are going in the future and might LNG be part of the solution to get us there?”

Currently, the economy relies on gas and a transition away from it will not be easy or immediate, Clarke says.

“The economy is not like a caterpillar that can cocoon itself and suddenly turn into a butterfly.”

The alternatives

Energy advocates spoken to by RNZ have widely differing views on the best solutions to New Zealand’s energy problem. But they had one view in common: technically, there are multiple alternatives that don’t involve importing gas.

“The energy system and the energy market is failing New Zealanders,” says Rewiring NZ chief executive Mike Casey. “The goal has to be finding the lowest cost alternative. And therefore the answer is not LNG – it’s a way more expensive outcome.”

Most experts agree that in the short term, New Zealand needs some kind of fossil fuel as back up. But that could be diesel-fired power plants, or the coal stockpile at Huntly, which recently gained approval by the Commerce Commission as an emergency reserve.

Longer term, the country needs to accelerate its build of lower-cost renewable options, including wind and solar, which are now the cheapest new generation in the country. Ideally, offshore wind will be added back into the mix, many argue.

Geothermal could provide constant baseload, while grid-scale batteries could handle daily peaks and replace the need for gas plants.

Long-duration storage is a more difficult proposition – but it could come from pumped-hydro schemes like Onslow – or pumped hydro may not be needed at all, with the right package of other measures, some experts say.

Beyond electricity, biomethane could substitute for gas in industry and transport, and biomass could replace coal for process heat. Currently, however, New Zealand does not produce enough of either to fill the gap, and each would need significant investment to expand.

Most agree smarter demand-response programmes – paying users to reduce consumption at peak times – could cut costs and ease pressure on the grid. Some commentators say even simple rationing or prioritising existing gas use would deliver more security than importing LNG.

Casey believes using what energy we have in a more deliberate way is vital.

“Look at hydro. It’s basically a giant battery, and we need to use it more strategically. And that’s because the market incentives for those who operate large storage lakes are aligned for profit, not the strategic use of our hydro assets,” he says. “The technology we need already exists. What’s missing is a plan to join it up.”

There are also ample opportunities to electrify. EECA’s Regional Energy Transition Accelerator work shows around a third of North Island industrial fossil-fuel emissions could be eliminated through projects that save money and free up gas for critical users.

A recent New Zealand Green Building Council report found that accelerating heat pump adoption is a major opportunity to save gas – it estimated the country could save up to 40 percent of New Zealand’s current gas production. It’d also save households up to $1.5 billion a year on energy bills.

But Energy Minister Simon Watts says the country needs a reliable power source that can be accessed quickly, and on demand.

“LNG can bolster domestic gas supplies, which helps manage the impacts of dry years and keeps the wider energy system up and running,” Watts says. “This will place downward pressure on prices and support New Zealand’s energy security.”

Cabinet will decide in December whether to proceed with LNG procurement.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — IperionX Limited (IperionX) (NASDAQ: IPX, ASX: IPX) notes the short seller report released by Spruce Point Capital Management. Consistent with recommended disclosures on short-selling campaigns under ASIC’s guidance in Information Sheet 255, IperionX’s response is focused on material, verifiable facts relevant to investors and continuous disclosure obligations.

IperionX maintains confidentiality, data-security and intellectual-property controls that meet the stringent contracting requirements of the U.S. Department of War (DoW). IperionX remains focused on executing the commercial scale-up of titanium production and manufacturing in Virginia.

Spruce Point Capital did not engage with IperionX management at any time before releasing its short seller report, and the Company has no record of any attempted outreach by phone or email. Spruce Point Capital has never visited, or requested to visit, IperionX’s titanium manufacturing operations in Virginia.

IperionX will continue to update the market as required in accordance with ASIC, ASX and SEC obligations.

VALIDATION OF IPERIONX’S PATENTED TECHNOLOGIES AND U.S. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

IperionX’s titanium technologies have been evaluated and supported through multiple U.S. Government programs including ARPA-E, DPA Title III, IBAS and, most recently, a U.S. Army led SBIR Phase III contract for procurement-ready titanium products.

These funding programs involve competitive selection processes, detailed technical due diligence, and ongoing reporting to DoW subject-matter experts who assess process performance, production quality and technology maturity. IperionX’s advancement through successive U.S. Government awards reflects the increasing readiness of its technology platform and its strategic relevance for the U.S. titanium supply chain.

IperionX’s multi-year U.S. Government support and third-party validation includes:

ARPA-E Program (2014)

ARPA-E, the U.S. Department of Energy’s advanced research agency, provided funding to the University of Utah to scale the titanium technologies from laboratory bench scale to pilot-scale production.

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) ‘Reprocessing of Metallic Scrap and Waste Powders’ Grand Challenge (2023)

IperionX won the AFRL Reprocessing of Metallic Scrap and Waste Powders Grand Challenge, for technology and processes that could transform scrap titanium into high-quality titanium metal powders.

Winner of R&D 100 award (2023)

IperionX and the HAMR technology inventor Dr. Zak Fang were recognized with the R&D 100 Award, acknowledging the breakthrough potential of their titanium production process. Assessed by an independent panel of leading experts, the R&D 100 Award is among the most respected global innovation accolades, awarded only to technologies that demonstrate exceptional technical merit, differentiation, and measurable advantages over existing processes.

Defense Production Act Title III / DPA Investment Program (2023)

IperionX received a U.S. DoW award of US$12.7 million “to increase titanium production for defense supply chains,” specifically to commission and scale its Virginia facility to 125 metric tons per annum (tpa) of titanium.

IBAS (Industrial Base Analysis & Sustainment) Program (2025)

IperionX received a U.S. DoW award of US$47.1 million to strengthen the U.S. Defense Industrial Base by accelerating development of a resilient, low-cost, and fully integrated U.S. mineral-to-metal titanium supply chain.

Under the IBAS program, the DoW allocated US$5 million to accelerate the Titan Critical Minerals Project, funding a Definitive Feasibility Study to achieve ‘shovel-ready’ status by mid 2026. With all major development permits received, Titan Project stands as a potential near-term, strategic source of rare earths, titanium and zircon critical minerals for the United States.

The DoW has since obligated multiple tranches of funding under this IBAS award, including US$12.5 million (August 2025), US$25 million (September 2025) in addition to the US$5 million for the Titan Critical Minerals Definitive Feasibility Study.

SBIR Phase III Program (2025)

IperionX was awarded a U.S. Army Phase III SBIR IDIQ contract of up to US$99 million, applicable for procurement-ready technologies that U.S. Government agencies can utilize for procurement task orders, on a sole-source basis without further competition. IperionX’s first U.S. Army task order under the SBIR III has already been issued. 

The SBIR program is executed under open competition and routinely applies standards more rigorous than those used in traditional acquisition programs. Phase I and II agreements focus on the competitive development, testing, and evaluation of commercially relevant technologies. SBIR Phase III represents the program’s most advanced phase. During Phase III, the U.S. Government transitions into production contracts to facilitate commercialization. Attainment of Phase III status typically signifies that a company has met extensive technical, testing, and competition requirements, secured recurring funding support from U.S. Government end-users over multiple selection stages, and demonstrated operational or near-operational performance.

OPERATING FOCUS AND NEAR-TERM PRIORITIES

IperionX reiterates 2026 priorities as previously disclosed.

Virginia: Commission industrial scale titanium production capacity

The Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus has completed commissioning, with titanium products advancing through customer qualification phases. Process and operational enhancements have recently increased projected nameplate capacity from 125 tpa to 200 tpa.

Virginia: Titanium production capacity scale-up to ~1,400 tpa by mid-2027 (U.S. DoW co-funded)

The IBAS-funded expansion of IperionX’s Virginia operations to lift nameplate titanium capacity by 7x to ~1,400 tpa by mid-2027 is now underway. The estimated US$75 million cost of the program is supported by IBAS funding commitments already secured.

Customer programs and revenues

IperionX is actively working on SBIR Phase III task orders for manufactured titanium components, drawing on its integrated powder metallurgy, forging, and additive manufacturing technology platform to deliver high-performance, low-cost titanium solutions for the U.S. military.

Cost curve and competitiveness

IperionX is advancing a structured process optimization program to continue to drive down projected unit costs and further increase yields. Current cost targets and timelines remain consistent with prior disclosures.

Titan Critical Minerals Project (Tennessee)

The Titan Definitive Feasibility Study continues to advance with U.S. Government funding support, accelerating work toward ’shovel-ready’ status. Titan Project is positioned as a potential near-term strategic supplier of rare earths (including heavy rare earths), titanium and zircon, supporting U.S. critical mineral security. Progression to development will be dependent on completion of the DFS, expected by mid-2026, and the arrangement of appropriate project finance.

ADDRESSABLE MARKETS AND PRODUCT SALES STRATEGY

While spherical titanium powder remains a product offering for select customers, IperionX’s largest addressable market and core growth opportunity is high-performance, near-net-shape and finished titanium components for high-volume end markets such as fasteners, automotive, consumer electronics, and defense.

Leveraging low-cost HAMR titanium powder and advanced HSPT forging technologies, the Company aims to deliver high-value components at materially lower cost structures. This vertically integrated approach supports competitive U.S. production across the full titanium value chain – from scrap or minerals through to finished titanium parts – addressing growing demand for resilient, sustainable and domestically sourced titanium.

IperionX has already manufactured and delivered titanium fasteners at the request of U.S. Army leadership. This successful initial deployment provided third-party validation of both the technical performance and cost advantage of HAMR and HSPT processes, and is driving additional commercial opportunities across the defense, oil & gas, automotive, and aerospace sectors.

SALES CONTRACTS

IperionX has secured multiple commercial agreements for its manufactured titanium products, as set out in the Company’s ASX and SEC disclosures. The prioritization of each program shifts over time to reflect customer scale, strategic importance, and alignment with U.S. Government funding and capability objectives. Representative agreements include:

• A disclosed Ford program with an expected value of ~US$11 million over 45 months. Automotive production schedules are inherently tied to vehicle platform launch schedules, so commencement may shift in line with integration milestones and manufacturing ramp-up decisions.
• Production and sale of titanium components for Panerai’s eTitanio Brabus and Submersible GMT Titanio Mike Horn watch collections.
• Production and sale of titanium fasteners to the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center for testing and installation on an operational platform.

In parallel, the Company is advancing a deep commercial pipeline across titanium and critical minerals, encompassing more than 200 NDA-backed opportunities, over 90 active customer programs, and 22 engagements in final prototyping or commercial negotiation. As a U.S. DoW-supported company, many of these product workstreams are governed by ITAR requirements and therefore receive priority focus and stringent confidentiality obligations.

During the ramp-up of the Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus, a limited number of potential partnerships associated linked to the Titan Critical Minerals Project were paused. With Titan development now re-initiated and supported by U.S. DoW funding, the Company expects partnerships to advance as the project progresses toward development.

TITANIUM SCRAP FEEDSTOCK STRATEGY

The U.S. titanium supply chain generates substantial volumes of titanium scrap each year, including bulk weldable material, powder, processed turnings and grindings. A significant proportion of this scrap cannot be efficiently processed by incumbent titanium processors and is instead downcycled to the lower value ferro-titanium market. The bulk weldable material has historically been the preferred feedstock for the incumbent industry and IperionX generally does not compete for this material. IperionX‘s strategy is to procure and upgrade this underutilized titanium scrap feedstock using its patented technologies.

IperionX’s technologies have been independently validated by multiple third parties, including the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Grand Challenge), to deoxygenate and upgrade these titanium scrap feedstocks into high-quality titanium metal products.

This feedstock strategy is already being successfully implemented. IperionX has procured more than 70 metric tons of titanium scrap, now held in inventory at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus, to support 2026 production requirements. In the medium term, IperionX plans to utilize upgraded titanium mineral feedstocks from the Titan Project to support multi-decade, fully integrated domestic titanium production.

IPERIONX MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE

IperionX’s Board and management team bring extensive senior-level experience from leading natural resource, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing organizations. The team has a demonstrated track record in delivering major mineral developments in iron ore, gold, coal, and titanium minerals, as well as in managing complex industrial programs spanning military aircraft production, commercial aviation platforms, and high-performance materials manufacturing.

IPERIONX OFFICE LOCATION

IperionX established its administrative office in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2020. As the Company has expanded, nearly all operations, workforce, and administrative activities have shifted to the South Boston, Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus. The operational address is 1080 Confroy Drive, South Boston, VA 24592, with mail received at 1092 Confroy Drive. IperionX’s physical footprint in the region totals ~100,000 square feet of secure, IperionX-exclusive titanium production and manufacturing facilities.

FINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL REPORTING

IperionX prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with Australian accounting standards, ensuring fair presentation of the Company’s financial position, operating performance, and cash flows. The Company has implemented and maintains effective internal controls over financial reporting, including the appropriate selection and consistent application of accounting policies.

All material reconciling items were identified and included in management’s reconciliations, with necessary adjustments made to the consolidated financial statements. There were no material unreconciled differences that required further adjustment or reclassification.

RISK FACTORS

IperionX notes the inherent risks and uncertainties in advancing large-scale titanium production and commercialization, as outlined in its annual report, 20F and other regulatory disclosures to the market. Notwithstanding these factors, the Company continues to advance against its stated strategic objectives and will keep the market informed on any material developments in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations.

LIQUIDITY

As set out in the most recent quarterly report, IperionX held US$79.2 million in cash and equivalents as at 30 September 2025.

Beyond this reported cash balance, ~US$43 million has been obligated under U.S. DoW programs and remains available to be drawn upon milestones. IperionX also has access to over US$97 million of additional funding capacity under its SBIR Phase III contract vehicle, which enables the U.S. Government to issue sole-source task orders for qualifying procurement task orders.

IperionX confirms that it is in compliance with its continuous disclosure obligations under Listing Rule 3.1, including in relation to the status of contracts, agreements and memoranda of understanding.

ABOUT IPERIONX

IperionX is a leading American titanium metal and critical materials company – using patented metal technologies to produce high performance titanium alloys, from titanium minerals or scrap titanium, at lower energy, cost and carbon emissions.

Our Titan critical minerals project is the largest JORC-compliant mineral resource of titanium, rare earth and zircon minerals sands in the United States.

IperionX’s titanium metal and critical minerals are essential for advanced U.S. industries including space, aerospace, defense, consumer electronics, hydrogen, automotive and additive manufacturing.

Forward Looking Statements

Information included in this release constitutes forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “continue”, and “guidance”, or other similar words and may include, without limitation, statements regarding plans, strategies and objectives of management, anticipated production or construction commencement dates and expected costs or production outputs.

Forward looking statements inherently involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance, and achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements. Relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices, foreign exchange fluctuations and general economic conditions, increased costs and demand for production inputs, the speculative nature of exploration and project development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits and diminishing quantities or grades of reserves, the Company’s ability to comply with the relevant contractual terms to access the technologies, commercially scale its closed-loop titanium production processes, or protect its intellectual property rights, political and social risks, changes to the regulatory framework within which the Company operates or may in the future operate, environmental conditions including extreme weather conditions, recruitment and retention of personnel, industrial relations issues and litigation.

Forward looking statements are based on the Company and its management’s good faith assumptions relating to the financial, market, regulatory and other relevant environments that will exist and affect the Company’s business and operations in the future. The Company does not give any assurance that the assumptions on which forward looking statements are based will prove to be correct, or that the Company’s business or operations will not be affected in any material manner by these or other factors not foreseen or foreseeable by the Company or management or beyond the Company’s control.

Although the Company attempts and has attempted to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actual results, performance, achievements, or events not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and many events are beyond the reasonable control of the Company. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Forward looking statements in these materials speak only at the date of issue. Subject to any continuing obligations under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange listing rules, in providing this information the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of the forward-looking statements or to advise of any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Competent Persons Statement

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results and Mineral Resources is extracted from IperionX’s ASX Announcement dated October 6, 2021 (“Original ASX Announcement”) which is available to view at IperionX’s website at www.iperionx.com. The Company confirms that a) it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the Original ASX Announcement; b) all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resource Estimate included in the Original ASX Announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed; and c) the form and context in which the relevant Competent Persons’ findings are presented in this report have not been materially changed from the Original ASX Announcement.

Contacts

Anastasios (Taso) Arima, Founder and CEO
Toby Symonds, President
Dominic Allen, Chief Commercial Officer

Investors: investorrelations@iperionx.com
Media: media@iperionx.com
+1 980 237 8900
www.iperionx.com

– Published by The MIL Network

HANOI/ ABU DHABI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 4 November 2025 – The Vietnam Exposition Center (VEC) and dmg events have announced a strategic partnership and launch their first collaborative initiative – aglobal energy congress and exhibition. Operated under an exclusive brand model, this global event is expected to become a new international platform connecting the renewable energy, power, hydrocarbons, energy storage, hydrogen, low-carbon technology, utilities sectors, within one integrated ecosystem, advancing cooperation, investment, and innovation in the global energy transition.

The global energy congress & exhibition, jointly initiated by VEC and dmg events, will be hosted in Hanoi, Vietnam – the new destination for the energy industry in Asia. Beyond showcasing advanced technologies and global cooperation models, this event also contributes to shaping the strategy of “globalizing green energy,” connecting Vietnam and Asia Pacific with the global flow of sustainable energy development.

The inaugural event will take place in December 2026 and is expected to run for four days, bringing together more than 800 domestic and international companies across the renewable energy, electricity, hydrocarbons, energy storage, hydrogen, low-carbon technology, and utilities sectors, along with 1,500 delegates and 180 international speakers from over 50 countries, fostering practical values in sustainable energy transition. Its program will include in-depth conferences, business matchmaking forums, exhibitions, technology showcases, and green-transition model experience designed to promote regional cooperation, investment, and innovation.

With its international scale, the global energy congress & exhibition aims to become a key meeting hub for policymakers, investors, and the global innovation community, where stakeholders can convene, collaborate, and develop solutions to pressing challenges in energy security, the green transition, and sustainable development. The event will also emphasize the core values of “just energy transition” and “sustainable collaboration,” aligning with the strategic directions of the Government of Vietnam under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and the Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership (ETP). This demonstrates Vietnam’s strong commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and facilitating capital flows into green, renewable, and clean technologies.

The launch of the global energy congress & exhibition marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between VEC and dmg events to develop and organize international exhibitions and congresses in Vietnam, positioning the country as a new regional hub for cooperation, knowledge exchange, and investment – a leading destination for global exhibitions in the future.

“Asia Pacific’s energy story is entering a new phase — one defined by balance, collaboration, and scale,” said Christopher Hudson, President at dmg events. “This global congress will be where industry leaders come together to turn ambition into execution — connecting capital, policy, and innovation across every energy system.”

Ms. Tran Mai Hoa, CEO of Vietnam Exposition Center, added: “The partnership between VEC and dmg events marks a strategic step toward positioning Vietnam as a new energy hub for the region. With this global event, we aim to create a platform with the scale and influence needed to drive policy dialogue, attract high-quality capital flows, and unlock breakthrough initiatives for the energy transition. This is not just an event, it is a foundation for Vietnam to contribute more proactively and substantially to the energy architecture of Southeast Asia and the world.”

Southeast Asia is entering a period of profound energy transition. Regional energy demand is forecast to rise by up to 60% by 2040, while required investment is estimated at over USD 200 billion annually. Infrastructure needs may exceed USD 3 trillion by 2030. These figures firmly position Southeast Asia at the center of the global energy landscape, driving collaboration, innovation, and large-scale capital deployment to ensure sustainable growth. Vietnam – a dynamic economy targeting GDP growth of 8% in 2025 and double-digit expansion between 2026 and 2030 – has emerged as a key driver of international investment, especially in renewable energy and infrastructure.

The strategic partnership between VEC and dmg events will not only create a channel for capital flows and technology transfer into Vietnam but also help establish the country as a focal point for global-scale congresses and exhibitions. This partnership also opens opportunities for both parties to further develop additional international exhibition models in the future, with the aim of advancing economic development, cultural exchange, international engagement, and the growth of MICE tourism.

Hashtag: #Vingroup #VEC #dmg

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

• With more than four decades of experience in project logistics, Rhenus supports the energy transition alongside booming global renewables
• The logistics solution provider’s integrated services from transport through customs, installation, maintenance and reverse logistics position Rhenus as a go-to-partner for developers worldwide
• Recent marquee projects cement Rhenus as a trusted partner in wind, solar and grid-infrastructure logistics

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2025 – In 2024, renewable energy saw a record capacity growth worldwide, with 585 Gigawatt (GW) added, representing an overall annual growth of around 15%, which was largely driven by solar and wind energy. However, experts warn that in order to triple renewable energy generation capacity by 2030 and reach the COP28 goal of 45% renewables share within global electricity, a further increase of new installations is needed. Many companies, supported by national renewables installation goals, are preparing to further amp up their projects.

In pole position for the renewables market

Rhenus is well-positioned to support this surge, drawing on more than 40 years of project logistics expertise and a track record of successful renewables installations over the years. The company has been active in European offshore and onshore wind projects since the early 2000s and expanded its project logistics footprint in the US and Canada as well as the APAC region early on. In 2023, Rhenus also further extended its offshore and onshore operations in Newfoundland, Eastern Canada.

In 2011, Rhenus first supported projects for the integration of offshore wind energy into the international grids by handling the logistics of cable drums. Today, this branch within the project logistics department has become the daily business, with Rhenus regularly transporting wind energy components as well as parts for hydroelectric, biomass power plants and even Direct Air Capture systems.

Global activities in renewables on the rise

In Europe – where 47% electricity came from renewables in 2024 and 16 GW were added in wind, 65 GW in solar energy – Rhenus was heavily involved in the connectivity projects for the German corridor, which connects offshore and onshore wind farms, solar parks and other renewable energy sources to the German grid. For the projects SuedLink, SuedOstLink, A-Nord and BorWin/ DolWin 4, Rhenus has transported and is continuing to transport more than 2,700 cable drums. In 2025 and beyond, Rhenus is also taking care of the reverse logistics of empty cable drums, either back to the production sites or to the recycling facilities.

In the APAC region, Rhenus handled roughly 500 shipments in 2024 that directly served renewable energy and energy transition-related projects, which included wind energy components, transformers, solar equipment and related EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) infrastructure. Recently, Rhenus shipped 300 flat-racks and 200 general containers for a global wind turbine OEM in China. “The energy transition is strongly driving more projects tied to renewable infrastructure development and associated investment in the region,” said Moritz Becker, Co-VP Director of Rhenus Project Logistics.

In the USA, Rhenus has branched out into the transport of hydrogen fuel cells, which are used to generate power by converting hydrogen into electricity without combustion. In 2025 alone, Rhenus has completed over 100 fuel cell installations along the East Coast of the US. At least 20 more installations are planned for the coming months.

Dedicated service expansion

In addition, Rhenus is a reliable partner for offshore platform support duties in the North Atlantic, North Sea and the Baltic Sea, for which the specialized service provider conducts regular maintenance, crew and supply runs, manages offshore container depots and organizes recycling through its sister company REMONDIS. “In the coming years, we expect the recycling and replacement of older windmills that have reached their lifespan to be a major additional focus and have developed complete supply chain concepts that will efficiently support customers in this market,” adds Bjoern Wittek, Managing Director of Rhenus Offshore Logistics.

Besides recycling and dismantling as a new service area, Rhenus also focuses on providing customers with alternate routing for their project and renewables transports: A recent contract with ENERCON features a barge reconstruction in order to transport wind turbine blades of up to 86 meters in length through the North German canals instead of via roads and motorways, bypassing traffic jams and complicated road transport permits and safeguarding just-in-time deliveries of the components to the ENERCON construction sites. “Using the waterways as an alternative to road transport holds even more potential. With inland navigation as our historic origin, Rhenus operates around 1,000 vessels every day, around half of which are our own barges. This makes us Europe’s largest inland waterway transport operator with units in all sizes, from self-propelled vessels to push convoys. We are well-equipped and able to expand this offering for our customers – even beyond the European waterways,” explains Marc Regenbogen, Head of Shipping at Rhenus PartnerShip.

Providing sustainable transport options

“For Rhenus, sustainability means meeting today’s needs without compromising the future. We are a key enabler in our customers’ decarbonization strategies, where we perceive a rising demand for efficient transport with a reduced CO₂ footprint,” explains Moritz Becker, Co-VP Director of Rhenus Project Logistics. As part of this strategy, Rhenus has implemented and continues to invest in the use of sustainable transport modes and alternative fuels.

This includes pilot projects to test alternative drive systems, such as the first hybrid push-barge combination using hydrogen fuel cells, batteries and state-of-the-art diesel engines operated with HVO100 that went into operation on the Rhine in January 2025.

In Spain, Rhenus is testing renewable fuels together with its customer Bosch, reducing road freight emissions by more than 80%. In June 2025, Rhenus and Merck also launched a biodiesel B100-powered shuttle service between Merck’s site in Molsheim and the Rhenus warehouse in Strasbourg, France, achieving a consistent 55% reduction in emissions.

Even in air freight, Rhenus offers customers a calculation tool, RHEGREEN, in order to reduce transport emissions by choosing the most efficient and sustainable flight connection, aircraft and routing. In December 2024, Rhenus joined Air France KLM Martinair Cargo’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) program in order to reinforce its commitment to reducing emissions for air freight and supporting customers’ ESG targets.

Investments into a sustainable future

Overall, these collected efforts, projects and commitment underline the Rhenus Group’s impact on the renewables market and reinforce its position as a renewable project logistics market leader. From its scalable infrastructure and practices to reduce lead times and logistics carbon footprint to providing complete end-to-end project logistics services, Rhenus creates a streamlined value chain for its energy customers. “As the renewables market accelerates, Rhenus is uniquely equipped to meet the logistical challenges of complex, large-scale energy infrastructure. We will continue to invest in low-carbon assets and transport solutions and expand our renewables-dedicated logistics hubs, such as the port terminal in Cuxhaven, Germany, the Maasvlakte terminal in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, or sustainable warehouses across Europe, the Americas, India and the APAC region,” adds Moritz Becker, Co-VP Director of Rhenus Project Logistics.

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Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou.

Ka mihi ki te mana whenua ko Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

Kia ora and good morning everyone – its great to be with you today.

Before I begin, I’d especially like to welcome EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič who has just arrived from Brussels, as well as the other political and diplomatic representatives from Europe including Lawrence Meredith the hard-working EU Ambassador to New Zealand.

Thank you to our European business colleagues who have travelled from half a world away to be with us this morning.  I hope you enjoy your stay in New Zealand.  More importantly, I hope you seize the opportunities to grow your businesses here. 

And also a warm welcome to the numerous New Zealand businesspeople who work so hard every single day to create jobs and improve incomes for our people.  Thank you for the work you do for our country.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour to open this inaugural EU – New Zealand Business Summit.  It fills a gap in the market for Kiwi businesses and government to meet and discuss one of the world’s most consequential economies.

For, while the European project at its beginning was fundamentally about creating a Europe, peaceful and united, it has also had the extraordinary co-benefit of unifying a single market.  And, at 17% of global output, the EU today is the world’s second largest economy.

The European Union, with its 450 million consumers, enjoy some of the highest living standards in the world.  The EU’s people are among the most highly educated and most innovative. Europe is home to vast pools of capital and ideas that Kiwis can access.

And this is a relationship that is paying dividends for both sides. 

While the EU still enjoys a healthy trade surplus – exporting nearly twice as much to New Zealand as Europeans buy from us – we’re closing the gap fast with an extraordinary 28% increase in our exports since our Free Trade Agreement entered into force last year.

New Zealand’s relations with Europe are perhaps in the best shape they’ve been for a generation.  Later in my remarks, I want to describe what that means for us as trading partners and innovation partners.

First, though, I want to describe the way in which the EU and New Zealand look out on the world in similar ways, before talking about how the two of us can work together as principled partners to try to shape the world in which we live.

So, let me begin by reflecting on the wider operating context that both Europe and New Zealand find ourselves in.

Whether in the Euro-Atlantic or here in the Indo-Pacific, we’re seeing the last generation’s geopolitical certainties upended.  We’re in an era where the world is more volatile and more uncertain than in recent memory. 

I would highlight three big shifts that make for challenging times.

First, we are seeing rules giving way to power.

For evidence of disregard for the rulebook, look no further than the way Russia tore up the United Nations Charter with its immoral invasion of Ukraine.

In a major speech last month, Ursula von der Leyen described Russia’s threat to Europe’s freedom and its independence as one where Moscow is drawing “battlelines for a new world order based on power”.

While at its most stark in Europe, it is not only Europe that is suffering the new reality of sharper competition undermining the rules-based order.

A slow shift in Indo-Pacific realities is also changing calculations.  In our wider region, the exercise of power is increasing the risk of dangerous miscalculation between states.

Whether it’s border skirmishes across the Indo-Pacific raising the fearful spectre of war.  Or whether its military activities designed to intimidate on the seas and in the skies. We’re seeing rules give way to power, with the risks of missteps rising.

Second, we are witnessing a shift from economics to security.

After the Cold War, the dominant paradigm was a sustained effort to raise material living standards. Make no mistake, “bread and butter” issues still loom large. Indeed, economic growth is my Government’s highest priority.

Yet, the reality is we are now in an era where you can’t have prosperity without security. Whether you like it or not, Governments are being forced to pay more attention to national security.

When the very tools of commerce are threatened by cyberattacks on computer networks and targeting of critical infrastructure, you can’t have prosperity without security.

When citizens and companies are fearful of military aggression, they won’t invest for the future.  Faced by the hard reality of all-out war in Europe, that’s why the EU’s top priority is security and defence for the first time  in its history. Indeed, we’re seeing increased security spend across the globe, including New Zealand’s commitment to a more capable Defence Force by doubling our own investment.

The third geo-economic shift is from efficiency to resilience.

Where previously, economies saw ever deeper interdependence as a dynamo for growth, that seems no longer the case for many.

Onshoring, industrial policy and trade wars are displacing best price, open markets, and integrated global supply chains.

And, so, we find ourselves in a world that is growing more difficult and more complex, especially for smaller states and those on the frontlines of geostrategic rivalry.

Ladies and gentlemen, a “might-is-right” world is neither in Europe nor New Zealand’s interests.  But we engage with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.

So, the challenge for us, as believers in global order, is to shape things using the agency we have.  Small countries can make a big difference when we work together with principled partners.

Let me give you two specific examples of New Zealand and Europe doing exactly this.

First, New Zealand is partnering with Europe to defend our shared values and interests in the face of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Unlike Moscow, we believe in democracy and a country’s right to determine its future.  Unlike President Putin, we believe in rules and the United Nations Charter that he so flagrantly flouts.

But, in the world, just as in business, the standard you walk past is the standard you accept.  Letting Russia get away with violating Ukraine’s sovereignty is to accept its behaviour as a new global standard.  Not just in Europe, but here in the Indo-Pacific, too.

Euro-Atlantic security is not so easily separated from that of the Indo-Pacific, particularly when we see tens of thousands of North Korean soldiers fighting at the frontlines for Russia.

And right here at home, Russia’s illegal war in Europe has caused real pain.  While we are at long last triumphing over the scourge of inflation, let’s not forget that it was Russia’s illegal invasion in 2022 that drove food and fuel prices through the roof in the first place.

When I was in the UK, Sir Keir Starmer and I met with Kiwi and Ukrainian soldiers training side-by-side.  It is no small thing that a country half a world away in the South Pacific has its largest military deployment in Europe.

But what made a far bigger impression on me was talking with Ukrainian soldiers who, in just a matter of days, were back on the frontline facing Russian bullets and drones.  As they defend their homeland, we will continue to be beside them in their fight. 

 Ladies and gentlemen, my second example of New Zealand and Europe working together as principled partners relates to trade. 

Now, the World Trade Organisation is not perfect.  But the reality is New Zealand and Europe’s exporters have thrived with the certainty it has delivered for 30 years of open trade governed by rules.

Today’s trade tensions expose the fracture-lines that have been building in the world trade system for a decade or more.  Our interests lie in sustaining open trade, so I don’t want us to be bystanders as the system degrades.

By working together as principled partners, I believe Europe and New Zealand can shape outcomes that sustain the rules.

Together, the EU and CPTPP countries comprise 30% of global trade – about the same proportion as do China and the United States.

In several conversations, President van der Leyen and I have agreed that, if the EU and CPTPP come together and agree between ourselves that we will not take actions that undermine the fundamental rules the multilateral trading system is founded upon, that will be an enormous injection of confidence into the system. 

I’m delighted that, next month, Commissioner Šefčovič will participate in the first EU-CPTPP Dialogue, which is aimed at doing just that.

It’s a practical demonstration of how our work together as principled partners can deliver on the fundamental idea that our exporters should compete on a level playing field internationally. 

Ladies and gentlemen, the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement embodies the ideal of that level playing field.  The FTA is an absolute step change for sectors that were previously constrained by quotas and tariffs.

With the EU our fourth largest export destination, I need not explain to you how critical New Zealand’s business connections with Europe are to delivering on my Government’s growth agenda.

Since the Free Trade Agreement with the EU came into force last May, two-way trade has grown by $1.7 billion. That’s growth that represents real money in the back pockets of our primary producers. 

It’s not only primary exports that are doing well courtesy of the EU FTA: I saw first-hand in Brussels the success of Auckland’s own autonomous shuttle manufacturer, Ohmio, which is selling its innovative vehicles into the EU after the FTA saw a 10% tariff removed.

Other Kiwi companies are following their lead, including Seequent and the Pure Food Company, both of which have established themselves in the EU and are busily scaling up their businesses to succeed.

With one in four of our jobs coming from exports, the EU FTA creates more opportunities for high-value jobs at home.  And it diversifies the set of markets open to our businesses as we seek to lift our economic resilience.

For a Government going after a doubling in the value of New Zealand’s exports by 2034, the EU FTA is a great result.  One we will continue to build on as additional sectors become duty-free over the next few years.

Our economic relationship with the EU delivers on our Going for Growth Plan in many more ways than just through exports.

When I was in the Netherlands in June, I met a series of European investors, many of whom have since announced new investments.

IKEA, with its first store in New Zealand opening in December. New Cold, which is investing in automated cold storage logistics in Auckland.

Many other European companies are thriving courtesy of their partnerships with New Zealand.

France’s Alstom has just sealed a deal, selling a fleet of eighteen state-of-the-art battery-electric trains, which will allow Wellington commuters to get where they need to go quickly, safely and with lower emissions.

Zespri has licenced its kiwifruit varieties to Italian growers to ensure year-round supply.  Indeed, it’s just licensed 170 hectares of one of its most innovative varietals, RubyRed.

Ladies and gentlemen, if New Zealand is going to create the kinds of high-growth businesses and high-income jobs we want and need, we have to get better at commercialising our amazing science and technology.

Under our Going for Growth Plan, my Government has prioritised a more strategic innovation system that enables New Zealand to keep pace with global change by directing investment towards research priorities that have real commercial potential.

In that, we’re lucky to have a first-mover advantage because we are associated with one of the world’s greatest sources of innovation.  The EU’s Horizon Europe is the world’s biggest multilateral funder of science and innovation.  And Kiwi researchers can access that on equal terms with their European counterparts.

Right now, Horizon Europe helps Kiwi researchers collaborate with European counterparts on more than 20 projects, ranging from designing virtual replicas of individual patient’s bodies to test treatments, through to new methods for hydrogen storage to solve our energy crisis.

And there’s room for growth in businesses’ technology partnerships in other ways in Europe.  New Zealand sourced precision farming is in demand across the EU’s livestock sector.  Kiwi firms like Orion Health and Aroa Biosurgery are making a difference with digital health solutions.

When I was in the Netherlands, I visited Dawn Aerospace, an incredible space transportation and satellite propulsion business, founded by two New Zealand brothers and their three European friends. With operations also out of Canterbury, it is doing remarkable things, moving satellites around in space and deploying a reusable space plane. 

 Finally, it’s great that Kiwi digital businesses, whether SaaS providers or fintech firms, can benefit from New Zealand having gained EU data adequacy status, which means personal data can flow freely between our jurisdictions without additional compliance burdens.  

Ladies and gentlemen, it is in the New Zealand character to be outward focused and open to new ideas.

We will continue to work with Europe on the latest ideas that power 21^st century open economies, including in areas like digital government and the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence. 

In wrapping up today, I offer this vision: a future where New Zealand and the European Union are not just trading partners — but innovation partners, principled partners, and strategic partners.

A future where our businesses thrive, our people prosper, and our shared values shape the global economy.

Let’s build that future together.

Thank you. Merci. Danke. Grazie. Kia ora.

MIL OSI

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 21 October 2025 – GasHubUnited Utility Private Limited (“GasHub“), Singapore’s leading Liquefied Natural Gas (“LNG“) distributor, proudly unveils its transformative “Switch Campaign”, a bold initiative to drive industries towards cleaner and more sustainable energy. GasHub is a subsidiary of H2G Green Limited (SGX:5AI) (“H2G“).