Commons committee looks at role of hydrogen to help achieve Net Zero

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has published its report looking at the role that hydrogen could play in helping the UK decarbonise its economy and help achieve the legal target of Net Zero by 2050.

The report found that the use of hydrogen will be limited rather than universal, although it could still have a ‘big niche’ role to play in certain sectors.

The committee is clear that although the use of hydrogen would grow substantially over the next few decades, it was not a panacea that would solve Net Zero on its own.

It found that the gas would be best suited in places or sectors which are:

• Hard to electrify, such as some parts of the rail network;
• Uses that do not require the creation of an extensive refuelling network—such as local bus services operating out of a fixed number of depots; and
• Users who are adjacent to, or accessible to, places where hydrogen is produced, such as industrial clusters.

It also recommends that the government explore the use of hydrogen as:

• a means of energy storage; and
• a source power for energy intensive industries like steel, glass and mineral production.

The committee’s report concludes:

“In our view, multiple changes will be needed to the way we obtain, use and store energy if we are to reach Net Zero emissions by 2050. Hydrogen will have its place in this portfolio. But we do not believe that it will be the panacea to our problems that might sometimes be inferred from the hopes placed on it.

“Essential questions remain to be answered as to how in future large quantities of hydrogen can be produced, distributed, and used in ways that are compatible with Net Zero and cost efficiency.”

See the full report here.