The UK’s first-ever Hydrogen Strategy, which sets the foundation for how the UK government will work with industry to meet its ambition for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, has been launched today.
With government analysis suggesting that 20-35% of the UK’s energy consumption by 2050 could be hydrogen-based, this new energy source could be critical to meet our targets of net zero emissions by 2050 and cutting emissions by 78% by 2035 – a view shared by the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee.
In the UK, a low-carbon hydrogen economy could deliver emissions savings equivalent to the carbon captured by 700 million trees by 2032 and is a key pillar of capitalising on cleaner energy sources as the UK moves away from fossil fuels.
Business & Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng commented on the announcement: “Today marks the start of the UK’s hydrogen revolution.
“This home-grown clean energy source has the potential to transform the way we power our lives and will be essential to tackling climate change and reaching Net Zero.
“With the potential to provide a third of the UK’s energy in the future, our strategy positions the UK as first in the global race to ramp up hydrogen technology and seize the thousands of jobs and private investment that come with it.”
The government’s approach is based on the UK’s previous success with offshore wind, where early government action coupled with strong private sector backing has earned the UK ‘a world-leading status.’
One of the main tools used by government to support the establishment of offshore wind in the UK was the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.
As such, the government has also launched a public consultation on a preferred hydrogen business model which, built on a similar premise to the offshore wind CfDs, is designed to overcome the cost gap between low carbon hydrogen and fossil fuels, helping the costs of low-carbon alternatives to fall quickly, as hydrogen comes to play an increasing role in our lives.
Alongside this, the government is consulting on the design of the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, which aims to support the commercial deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production plants across the UK.
Other measures included in the UK’s first-ever Hydrogen Strategy include:
- outlining a ‘twin track’ approach to supporting multiple technologies including ‘green’ electrolytic and ‘blue’ carbon capture-enabled hydrogen production, and committing to providing further detail in 2022 on the government’s production strategy
- collaborating with industry to develop a UK standard for low carbon hydrogen giving certainty to producers and users that the hydrogen the UK produces is consistent with net zero while supporting the deployment of hydrogen across the country
- undertaking a review to support the development of the necessary network and storage infrastructure to underpin a thriving hydrogen sector
- working with industry to assess the safety, technical feasibility, and cost effectiveness of mixing 20% hydrogen into the existing gas supply. Doing so could deliver a 7% emissions reduction on natural gas
- launching a hydrogen sector development action plan in early 2022 setting out how the government will support companies to secure supply chain opportunities, skills and jobs in hydrogen
The government also announced a £105 million funding package through its Net Zero Innovation Portfolio today that will act as a first step to build up Britain’s low carbon hydrogen economy.
The investment will help industries to develop low carbon alternatives for industrial fuels, including hydrogen, which will be key to meeting climate commitments. This includes:
- £55 million Industrial Fuel Switching Competition. Funding will support the development and trials of solutions to switch industry from high to low carbon fuels such as natural gas to clean hydrogen, helping industry reach net zero by 2050.
- £40 million Red Diesel Replacement Competition. Providing grant funding for the development and demonstration of low carbon alternatives to diesel for the construction, quarrying and mining sectors, with the aim of decarbonising these industries reliant on red diesel, a fuel used mainly for off-road purposes such as in bulldozers. With red diesel responsible for the production of nearly 14 million tonnes of carbon each year, the investment supports the UK government’s budget announcement, removing the entitlement to use red diesel and rebated biodiesel.
- £10 million Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator. Offering funding to clean technology developers to work with industrial sites to install, test and prove solutions for reducing UK industry’s energy and resource consumption
The Hydrogen strategy is available on the UK Government website.
More information about ‘Designing the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund’-consultation, which accepts contributions until 25 October 2021, is available on the UK Government website.
More information about the ‘Design of a business model for low carbon hydrogen’-consultation, which accepts contributions until 25 October 2021, is available on the UK Government website.
More information about ‘Hydrogen for heat: facilitating a grid conversion hydrogen heating trial’, which accepts feedback until 28 September 2021, and how to take part is available in the UK Government website.
