Govt unveils Hydrogen Action Plan

The Government has released a Hydrogen Action Plan which aims to attract investment, streamline consents and position New Zealand for emerging hydrogen opportunities.

“New Zealand is fortunate to have abundant renewable energy potential, which provides a strong foundation to electrify much of our economy,” Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.

“However, some parts of the economy are not practical or possible to electrify, such as heavy transport and industry – this is where hydrogen could take a major role in reducing emissions while keeping our economy growing.

“The Government is committed to enabling the hydrogen sector to be part of our energy mix through removing regulatory barriers and supporting international trade and investment,” Brown says.

The Hydrogen Action Plan focuses on four key priorities:

• Creating an enabling regulatory environment.
• Reducing barriers for consenting hydrogen projects through Electrify NZ and RMA reform programmes.
• Promoting a cost-effective, market-led transition to a low-emissions economy.
• Supporting access to international investment and markets.

The plan also aligns with the coalition agreement between the National and New Zealand First parties to plan for low-carbon goals, including infrastructure to boost the use of hydrogen and methanol for fuel resilience.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts highlighted hydrogen’s role in tackling emissions from hard-to-abate sectors like heavy industry and transport.

“Affordable and abundant clean energy is a key pillar to the Government’s climate strategy. Hydrogen could play a key role alongside the increasing electrification of our economy to help reduce our emissions and meet our climate change goals,” Watts says.

“I am excited by hydrogen’s potential to support New Zealand’s transition to a low-emission economy, and I look forward to continuing to engage with the sector on hydrogen opportunities for New Zealand.”