A raft of announcements from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, including £400m backing for 11 major projects, has been welcomed by the country’s leading hydrogen trade association.
The Hydrogen Energy Association said today’s (Dec 14) news – including the announcement of successful projects in the first hydrogen allocation round, HAR 1 – was an important boost for the economy, creating hundreds of jobs and demonstrating the investment appeal of UK hydrogen.
Now the proof will be in the pudding on what 2024 brings, especially as second allocation round opens, says the HEA.
Celia Greaves, CEO and Founder of the HEA, said: “This is an important set of announcements for hydrogen in the UK, and we’re delighted that two of our members – Marubeni Europower and GeoPura – have been included in the successful projects for HAR1, the first hydrogen allocation round.
“2024 is going to be critical for hydrogen, and it’s crucial that we build on the existing momentum and deliver the level of ambition in HAR 2 to get us to our targets.”
The HEA highlighted the additional announcements from DESNZ, including the publication of a hydrogen production delivery roadmap, which sets out the journey to 2035, a new pathway for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, and an official response on hydrogen blending into gas distribution networks.
“We welcome the announcement on up to 20% blending, it will now be important to see how this sits from a policy standpoint alongside higher value offtake such as hydrogen mobility,” said Celia.
“It is encouraging to see broad progress across the value chain and that Government is listening to industry in taking forward policy, particularly with regards to the timing of future competitive allocation of funding.
“The HEA is continuing to work with government to accelerate progress, not only on the achievement of production targets and the need to scale up demand, but also on the huge economy opportunity that hydrogen offers the UK.”
