An ownership spat is brewing between Māori and the Crown as New Zealand uses more renewable energy sources.
Currently 99% of the world’s hydrogen energy is generated using fossil fuels, such as natural gas or coal.
While they are cheap and efficient, the processes emit carbon which is either released into the air or captured and stored.
‘Green hydrogen’ uses water and is being touted as a more environmentally friendly process. It uses an electric current powered by renewables to split H20 into hydrogen and oxygen. As they’re the only two elements, no carbon is released.
But there’s an emerging third option — to drill using water and extract hydrogen directly from under the ground.
And Victoria University of Wellington materials engineer Chris Bumby said New Zealand could be sitting on a goldmine — olivine rock.
The mineral, which produces natural hydrogen, “underpins pretty much all of New Zealand”, Bumby said.
“Surrounding that, of course, we’ve got areas that are hot and are wet so we have all the things that you would need to generate geological hydrogen.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said clean hydrogen is “a really interesting proposition”.
Resources Minister Shane Jones said commercial firms are keen to start digging.
“Firms who are in contact with the Crown will not move forward until they know that there is a regulatory framework that gives certainly to investors,” Jones said.
Another factor to consider is the uncertainty around who owns the olivine rock.
“Sadly, the officials have acquainted me with the fact that they’re not sure who owns this native hydrogen,” Jones said.
Hydrogen is not included under the Crown Minerals Act and Māori are no stranger to laying ownership claims to resources, including water.
Jones argued that the rocks are “a native hydrogen”.
“I certainly don’t want any of the native hapū with their shapeless claims making it more difficult for overseas or local investors than it should be,” he said.
Te Pati Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer disagreed, saying Māori have rights and interests to “absolutely every renewable energy”.
“That’s our whakapapa,” she said.
Ngarewa-Packer is currently seeking legal advice with a focus to establish regulations.
“Regulations need to acknowledge that the rights and interests of these resources have and sit with tangata whenua,” Ngarewa-Packer said.
But Jones was adamant the olivine rock belonged to all.
“No hapū, no tribe and their interests should trump the need for New Zealand to have an economically efficient, clean source of energy,” he said.