As keen advocates of the hydrogen initiatives needed for the UK to hit its Net Zero targets, we have been watching out for the Hydrogen Champion, Jane Toogood’s report.
Well, in late March 2023, it arrived. After several weeks to digest and discuss with the team in DEC and colleagues across the industry, we have formed an opinion. It holds no punches and clearly defines what needs to be done. Not only by the government but in the private sector, to ensure that Hydrogen in all its guises will play its part in the clean energy fuel mix our UK industrial and domestic consumers will access in the decades to come.
Our European counterparts have accelerated their hydrogen plans in reaction to the Ukraine/ Russia war and their reliance on Russian gas to power their economies. The US has also ramped up their commitment by offering substantial government subsidies for low-carbon hydrogen production, at risk of diverting investment from the UK.
If we don’t act decisively, we may miss the proverbial boat. So does the report outline an achievable roadmap, demonstrating our ambition and one the government will not pay lip service to?
From DEC’s viewpoint, it probably does. It identifies the level of investment an onboard government needs to get hydrogen production of scale coupled with Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Capture (CCUS) to make the reality viable. But we do have reservations.
It asks for clarity and commitment to the future of domestic heating, which is pivotal and affects all consumers in the UK. As a socially responsible business, the needs of consumers and the taxpayers should be taken into consideration, and hydrogen blending is an immediate option, with less disruption and cost being put into the supply chain. In contrast, pure hydrogen-powered domestic heating will need a full-scale infrastructure and supply chain rework, but at what cost? Blending is a transition tool whilst the grid is upgraded to support the electrification of heating.
We need scale and cost reduction in the supply chain to generate the investment into the plant and required technology across the network; at Power Initiatives, we have projects in the pipeline. However, they are only commercially viable from an investor perspective with government support.
Again, our concern with CCUS is that the government are pursuing policies to prolong the oil and gas industry rather than driving renewables. The scale needed to make CCUS work economically means that only big companies can make it work, with more significant technological advancements needed.
Based on the big 'green day' announcement, refineries and large-scale blue hydrogen plants will benefit from government subsidies.
There should be a focus on harnessing the unique wind power potential of the UK to create high volumes of green hydrogen, as a minimum, utilising the current renewable power curtailed at a substantial cost to consumers.
Critical is an early passing of the Energy Bill, which will put this roadmap at the heart of our political future irrespective of the choice of politics as the bill is statute and law.
The report is incisive and gets us back in the game; the issue now sits with the politicians and how they react in ‘doing’ rather than ‘talking’. We will revisit this in the months to come.
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