After months of speculation, this week the UK Government released its long-awaited Hydrogen Strategy. Like many within the industry, the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (UK HFCA) welcomed the publication of the Strategy, the greater clarity offered and the government’s commitment to the hydrogen sector. However, we still believe that the government could be more ambitious in its targets and support. Overall, it is clear that further detail will be key.
As a trade association, we are dedicated to all forms of hydrogen production, so we are pleased to see the government support a ‘twin-track’ approach to hydrogen production. Supporting both green and blue hydrogen will enable scale up and decarbonisation more quickly. And while it was good to see government set out its ambition for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, we believe that the Strategy could have been more ambitious. As we have outlined in our recent Green and Blue Hydrogen position papers, with the right support, a 20GW mix of green and blue hydrogen power could be deployed by 2030 – four times more than the government has planned for.
The business models that are implemented by government for hydrogen will be integral to ensuring the hydrogen industry grows at the pace needed to play a significant part in the UK’s energy mix. They need to be attractive and workable for both green and blue hydrogen and reflect their different characteristics. We welcome the publication of the consultation on business models and look forward to working with government to develop the right support mechanisms so that both green and blue hydrogen can compete with traditional sources of power and heating.
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