The Hydrogen Energy Association (HEA) has launched a roadmap, outlining how GB Energy can deliver its mission through hydrogen.
Setting the scene, it stressed that with the global demand for hydrogen technology expected to increase to £700 billion annual by 2050, the UK has a real chance to be at the forefront of this industry, generating jobs and exports. There are energy resilience benefits too, with hydrogen key to achieving a decarbonised power system by 2030, helping to balance supply and demand, complementing high levels of intermittent renewable generation, while also helping decarbonise hard to abate sectors such as heavy industry and heavy-duty transport.
With nations across the world pressing forward with the roll-out of hydrogen now, there is a 10-year window of opportunity to convert investment in innovation into globally competitive supply chains, helping to establish the UK as a global leader. So, what can GB Energy do?
With one of the big challenges facing the roll-out of hydrogen building up demand, the HEA suggest having GB Energy invest in inland hydrogen hubs, as well as core industrial clusters and ports, as a solution, allowing for hydrogen trade. Through these hubs, different user types and sizes could be combined, with demand brought together with local production, helping to mitigate the reliance on long-distance transportation and national pipelines.
It also wants to see GB Energy act as a risk-taking intermediary between low carbon hydrogen producers and users while the market is being established. It could link a number of producers and users together, allowing producers to mitigate volume risk and improve investment approval. It further cited funding for offshore hydrogen pipelines as another area where GB Energy could potentially play an important role.
Elsewhere, it called for the GB Energy and Crown Estate partnership to extend its project development function into hydrogen and while acknowledging the planning process for hydrogen is beyond GB Energy’s remit, it suggested that developing wider frameworks, as well as capability and capacity building in planning departments will help to reinforce its work, calling for it to engage with relevant stakeholders to streamline this process for all.
