The UK Hydrogen Policy Commission (HPC) has warned that the UK Government’s hydrogen ambitions are lagging behind other nations, which fail to offer a “clear, stable, and attractive policy and political environment.”
In a report released today (December 16), the commission of cross-party parliamentarians, local leaders, trade union representatives, and academics said, recent political instability, delays to the Energy Bill, and “worsening economic outlook” have dealt a “hammer blow” to UK industry confidence.
“We need to wake up to the rapid developments in hydrogen support in other countries like the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and the Hydrogen Bank in Europe,” said Baroness Brown DBE, Former Vice Chair of the Climate Change Committee. “Investors are looking seriously at the opportunities these initiatives create and the UK risks losing its place as a key hydrogen player.”
Despite the report offering some praise for the UK Hydrogen Strategy and the British Energy Security Strategy, which saw the doubling of the target for low-carbon hydrogen production capacity to 10GW by 2030, the HPC says delays in policy implementation have “taken the shine off the confidence that was building across the sector.”
... to continue reading you must be subscribed