A cross-industry coalition has set out to secure investment and support for hydrogen in the UK to drive the country towards becoming a world leader in hydrogen.
Unveiled on 2 March in Parliament, the Hydrogen Taskforce, which consists of Arup, Arval, Baxi, BNP Paribas, BOC, BP, Cadent, DBD, ITM Power, Shell and Storengy, marked its launch with the release of a report, The Role of Hydrogen in Delivering Net Zero. In this, it outlined a series of policy recommendations for industry and government to target over the next five years.
It called for 100 hydrogen refuelling stations to be established by 2025, supporting the rollout of hydrogen transport, and for the government to commit £1bn towards hydrogen projects over the next Spending Review Period. Elsewhere, it recommended the development of a cross-departmental Hydrogen Strategy; for financial support for the production of hydrogen for blending into the gas grid, industrial use, power generation and transport; and amending Gas Safety Management Regulations to enable hydrogen blending into the UK gas grid as well as taking next steps towards 100% hydrogen heating through backing public trials and mandating hydrogen-ready boilers by 2025.
Jacob Young, Chair of the Hydrogen All Party Parliamentary Group, said: “The political, social and economic arguments for large scale hydrogen conversion have never been so strong. It is clear that we cannot meet our Net Zero 2050 target without hydrogen technology. From heating our homes, to our journeys to work, hydrogen can play a huge part in our decarbonisation in this decade. By taking the next steps and accelerating hydrogen development programmes we can create thousands of new, skilled, green jobs and continue to lead the world in the hydrogen economy.”
