How much hydrogen could we need in New Zealand? Understanding the diverse hydrogen applications and their regional...

Green hydrogen could become a key solution for the decarbonisation of diverse sectors in the energy transition. Beyond supplying the current demand for ammonia, methanol, and steel, new applications like aviation fuels, high-temperature heat and seasonal storage are promising. While initial efforts have been made to understand the future of hydrogen in New Zealand, there has been no comprehensive quantification of hydrogen demands. In this study, using systems analysis, we quantify the potential demand for 20 hydrogen applications in the country, including their spatial allocation to each of the 16 regions. We sort these applications using the so-called Clean Hydrogen Ladder concept. The associated database is open source. The results show that New Zealand's total demand for green hydrogen would be around 2.8 Mt if all technically feasible applications switched to hydrogen. Prioritising the demand for applications in rungs A and B of the Clean Hydrogen Ladder concept, we estimate approximately 0.24 and 0.77 metric tons, respectively. The findings of this research contribute to the development of a hydrogen strategy and serve as inputs for optimal planning of integrated energy pathways for New Zealand.