Hydrogen has potential as a future energy carrier but producing it from natural gas is the most obvious and affordable source, says the Petroleum Exploration and Production Exploration Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ)

"The potential of hydrogen should be welcomed because New Zealand and the world are going to need more energy from all sources in the future," says PEPANZ CEO Cameron Madgwick.

"The report confirms that using electricity to create hydrogen is very expensive as it requires enormous amounts of electricity.

"This was confirmed by a report by Concept Consulting earlier this year estimating it would be three times more expensive than hydrogen produced from natural gas. It also found the uses are likely to be niche and small scale.

"Hydrogen can also be produced using natural gas with zero emissions if carbon capture and storage technology is used. There is already a concrete proposal from a private company wanting to make a multi-billion investment into this technology in Taranaki.

"To enable this, we’d like to see the Government passing legislation to enable carbon capture and storage technology in New Zealand. It would be a big step forward for hydrogen, and a win-win for our economy and environment."

ENDS

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