The North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) wants to see a ramped up national target of 20GW of hydrogen by 2035.
It published a manifesto, setting out what needs to happen to deliver a world leading hydrogen economy in the North West of England. Within this, it drew on how the development of a hydrogen economy can unlock as much as £13bn in GVA and create over 100,000 jobs by 2050, though noted for regions such as the North West to do their part, government support is needed.
Therefore, it is calling for projects in the carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) clusters to be accelerated, allowing the UK to hit production targets, and for the hydrogen transport and storage business models to be sped up too. This would provide interim measures that could unlock early infrastructure.
It also is calling for a national supply chain and skills strategy to be delivered, which should reflect the strengths and needs of different regions and then can be used to support the reskilling and training that a net zero future is going to need.
Further recommendations include reviewing the planning processes for hydrogen to provide direction and a framework for new hydrogen infrastructure; a national public engagement programme around net zero to be launched, preparing consumers and fostering public awareness and acceptability; and creating an enabling regulatory environment to unlock investment in electricity infrastructure to support the growth of green hydrogen production.
