- Hon Chris Bishop
- Hon Shane Jones
The Coalition Government has agreed to regulate white and orange hydrogen through the Natural Environment Act framework, providing a clearer pathway for industry to explore and develop the emerging resource.
Resources Minister Shane Jones and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop say the decision provides greater certainty to industry, iwi and hapū, landowners and communities about how white and orange hydrogen resources will be managed.
"White and orange hydrogen represent an exciting economic and energy opportunity for New Zealand but the regulatory framework has not kept pace with these emerging resources," Mr Jones says.
"Exploration and investment have been constrained by uncertainty around ownership rights and the rules that would apply. These decisions provide a clear direction and greater confidence for those looking to invest in New Zealand."
White hydrogen, also known as natural hydrogen, occurs naturally underground while orange hydrogen is produced through directed reactions of certain rock formations. Both are emerging internationally as potential lower-emissions sources of hydrogen for industrial processes, fertiliser and chemical production, fuel, and other hard-to-electrify sectors.
Mr Bishop says the Natural Environment Act framework is the most appropriate vehicle for regulating the resource.
"The Natural Environment Act already provides a framework for managing resources such as geothermal energy that can cross property boundaries.
"It makes sense to build on an existing framework rather than create an entirely new regime.
"The Government has previously ruled out Crown ownership of hydrogen resources. This approach provides a practical and workable pathway that supports investment while detailed policy design continues."
Cabinet has agreed in principle to apply an approach similar to that of geothermal energy, in which the Crown manages access but does not own the resource. It has also agreed in principle that authorisations for white and orange hydrogen activities should be capable of being granted on an exclusive basis.
"Developing subsurface resources requires significant upfront investment," Mr Jones says.
"Investors need confidence that competing claims won't undermine their ability to develop a resource. Exclusive authorisations are a well-established way of providing that certainty."
The decision follows public consultation in 2025 which showed strong support for greater regulatory clarity. Industry submitters generally favoured a framework that provided certainty of access and investment protection. Treaty partners generally supported bespoke approaches that provide a stronger role in decision-making, environmental oversight, benefit-sharing, and allocation decisions.
The decisions establish the policy direction while detailed work continues on issues such as allocation mechanisms, property rights, royalties, Māori interests and implementation arrangements. The proposals will be progressed through amendment legislation in 2027, subject to final Cabinet decisions.
Editors' note
Cabinet has agreed that white and orange hydrogen will be regulated through the proposed Natural Environment Act framework, and agreed in principle that:
- White and orange hydrogen resources will be managed in a manner analogous to geothermal resources.
- Authorisations for white and orange hydrogen activities should be capable of being granted on an exclusive basis, providing investment certainty and protecting operators from competing claims to the same resource.
- The Crown Minerals Act 1991 will be amended to clarify that hydrogen is not a mineral for the purposes of that Act.
- The Crown Minerals Act will be amended to clarify how it applies where orange hydrogen is produced from minerals regulated under the Crown minerals regime.
