Government launches new plan for hydrogen power

The government has said that it hopes to create a thriving low carbon hydrogen sector over the coming decade that will unlock billions of pounds in investment and produce tens of thousands of new jobs.

Its vision is laid out in the UK’s first ever Hydrogen Strategy, which includes the ambition to generate 5GW of low carbon hydrogen by 2030, the equivalent of replacing natural gas in powering around 3m homes each year.

The strategy includes a consultation on the best business model to attract private investment in hydrogen, for example, such as the Contracts for Difference scheme used in offshore wind. There is also a consultation on defining the standards for what constitutes low carbon hydrogen.

The Business and Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng said:

“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.”

There are already several innovative low carbon hydrogen schemes across the UK.

Wrightbus in Belfast has been developing hydrogen-powered buses and in Wales a project by Hanson Cement is demonstrating how hydrogen can help decarbonise cement manufacturing. In England,  a scheme run by Unilever and Progressive Energy is running a trial to switch an onsite natural gas-fired boiler to hydrogen.