UK government reveal plans for world-leading Hydrogen strategy

Hydrogen is one of a few innovative low-carbon options that will be crucial in the UK’s net-zero transformation. Low carbon hydrogen might be a versatile substitute for high-carbon fuels used today as part of a thoroughly decarbonized, deeply renewable energy system. It is helping to reduce emissions in key UK major industries while also providing flexible energy for power, heat, and transportation.

The UK’s vision, resources, and expertise are suitable for establishing a vibrant hydrogen economy quickly. Our world-class innovation and experience provide opportunities for UK businesses in domestic and international markets that are growing. The UK Hydrogen Strategy outlines how we attain our 5GW production goal by 2030 by making progress in the 2020s and position hydrogen to assist us in meeting our Sixth Carbon Budget and net-zero goals.

 

The Hydrogen Strategy includes the following measures:

1.Collaborating with industry to evaluate the safety, technical feasibility, and cost-effectiveness of mixing 20% hydrogen into existing gas supplies.

2.We are announcing a hydrogen sector development action plan in early 2022, outlining how the government will assist companies in securing supply chain opportunities, skills, and jobs in the hydrogen sector.

3.Outlining a “dual track” policy to promote numerous technologies, including “green” electrolytic and “blue” carbon capture-enabled hydrogen production, and promising to provide further detail on the government’s production strategy in 2022.

4.Coordinating with the sector to make a UK standard for low carbon hydrogen that assures producers and users that the hydrogen produced in the UK complies with net-zero emissions while promoting hydrogen deployment all over the country.

5.Conducting an evaluation to assist in constructing the necessary network and storage infrastructure to support the growth of the hydrogen industry.

The UK Hydrogen Strategy takes a comprehensive strategy to build a successful hydrogen industry in the United Kingdom. It outlines what has to be done to enable hydrogen production, distribution, storage, and consumption, as well as to ensure economic prospects for our industrial heartlands and the rest of the UK.

 

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of the Strategy lays out the case for low-carbon hydrogen, briefly describing how it is produced and used today before describing its potential role in achieving net-zero emissions and allowing UK businesses and citizens to be at the forefront of the global transition to net-zero emissions.

Chapter 2

The Strategy’s second chapter lays out our whole-systems strategy to creating the UK hydrogen economy. It starts with our 2020s plan, which lays out a clear vision of how the hydrogen economy has to evolve over the next decade and into the 2030s – and what needs to be in place to make that happen, developed in collaboration with industry.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 highlights how we will work to ensure that a successful hydrogen economy creates economic opportunities across the UK by learning from the development of other low-carbon technologies and incorporating this into our approach from the start.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 expands on this by demonstrating how the UK is collaborating with other leading hydrogen nations to drive global support for developing low-carbon hydrogen to aid the world’s net-zero transition.

Chapter 5

The Strategy’s fifth chapter outlines how we’ll track our progress to ensure we’re building a UK hydrogen economy following the principles and outcomes outlined in Chapter 1 and our roadmap outlined in Chapter 2.