United Kingdom

Hydrogen presents the UK with a substantial opportunity to drive economic growth and secure skilled jobs by leveraging our natural geological and geographical advantages robust supply chain and existing energy expertise. Hydrogen UK’s most recent Economic Impact Assessment estimates that the hydrogen sector in the UK could support approximately 30000 direct jobs and contribute more than £7 billion gross value added annually by 2030. On a global scale the hydrogen market is projected to be worth $2.5 trillion by 2050.

With international competition increasing the UK must act now to capitalise on this potential. These projections are supported by a recognition that hydrogen is one of the key solutions to decarbonising the UK economy complementing other low-carbon solutions such as electrification carbon capture biofuels and energy efficiency. Additionally hydrogen will play a vital role in enhancing the UK’s energy security by storing domestically produced energy to balance intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar. As a critical component of the clean energy transition hydrogen is indispensable to achieving net zero.

As it stands the UK is well placed to capitalise on the hydrogen opportunity and emerge as a global leader. We have made early strides in establishing a framework for hydrogen development with various pilot projects and strategic investments already underway. However the next five years will be critical for the sector as we move from strategy and planning to development and delivery. It is imperative to get the first lowcarbon production projects over the line and into construction as a matter of urgency and then deliver substantial infrastructure development regulatory clarity and sustained financial support to scale-up production and distribution. A new Government presents an opportunity for policymakers to solidify commitments and accelerate the deployment of hydrogen technology ensuring the UK remains competitive in the global race.

Our manifesto outlines policy recommendations for the new UK Government to take across production distribution and storage infrastructure end use applications trade and beyond which will support a thriving British industrial base that creates jobs and growth for British people. To achieve this the UK hydrogen industry calls on policymakers to speed up the deployment of hydrogen through the recommendations set out in this Manifesto.

This report can be found on Hydrogen UK's website.

Hydrogen is one of the key solutions to decarbonising the UK economy along with other carbon abatement solutions such as electrification CCUS biofuels and energy efficiency. It provides a low carbon alternative to fossil fuels that has many of the same desirable features such as burning with a high temperature flame without producing carbon emissions during combustion. Hydrogen will be particularly valuable in hard-to-decarbonise sectors that have few cost-effective alternatives including elements of industry heavy transport and dispatchable power generation. However it’s use could be much more widespread depending on how costs preferences and policy for different low carbon solutions develop. The Government’s Hydrogen Strategy estimates that based on analysis from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) in 2050 between 20% and 35% of the UK’s final energy demand could be met with low carbon hydrogen1 . While hydrogen provides a promising solution to reducing emissions current deployment of low carbon hydrogen is low with almost all hydrogen in the UK produced from unabated fossil fuels resulting in high emissions. In the UK hydrogen production must meet the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard (LCHS) to access government support. This is currently set at 20g CO2 e/MJ(LHV) and will ensure that future deployment will deliver significant emissions reductions when switching from fossil fuels2. The period to 2030 will be a critical time for the UK to seize the economic opportunity presented by low carbon hydrogen sector. Internationally increasing attention has been placed on hydrogen as a solution to global emissions. In the USA the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has provided fixed rate tax credits of up to $3/kg (£2.4/kgII) for clean hydrogen production3. Closer to home the EU is targeting 10 million tonnes of domestic electrolytic production and an additional 10 million tonnes of electrolytic hydrogen imports by 20304. This will be achieved through a variety of policy levers including an auction for fixed price subsidy support for electrolytic production with a ceiling of €4.5/kg5 (£3.84/kgIII). In the UK Government have set an ambitious target of up to 10 GW of low carbon hydrogen production by 2030 with at least half of this from electrolytic sources6. This will be supported by the Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) a two-way variable CfD which could potentially provide hydrogen for a price as low as the natural gas price7 . As global supply chains investment and skills are in international competition the UK must continue its ambitious hydrogen aspirations to ensure the decarbonisation and economic opportunity presented by low carbon hydrogen is captured. This study estimates the economic impact of the low carbon hydrogen sector in the UK by 2030. The impact is assessed by estimating the costs of hydrogen deployment and applying employment and GVA multipliers to these costs based on historic economic activity. These estimates are broken down by different forms of low carbon hydrogen production and end use as well as the enabling infrastructure required to connect production and demand namely hydrogen networks and storage. Both the employment and GVA are estimated for each of these value chain elements for every year between 2024 and 2030. Employment and economic growth from the hydrogen sector will be created across the UK with many benefits arising in regions that have faced historic underinvestment such as the industrial clusters and Scotland. Beyond the high-level economic benefits estimated in this study the hydrogen sector creates an opportunity for the hundreds of thousands oil and gas sector jobs in the UK to transition to a low carbon alternative.

This report can be found on Hydrogen UK's website.

This report explores how hydrogen could be taken up in the UK and how this in turn translates to each sector from both global and UK perspectives to understand the practical implications of global and UK targets and projections on hydrogen innovation opportunities:

♦ Assessing demand for hydrogen sets out the context and the approach taken in the assessment of global and UK sector hydrogen needs including the development of specific UK scenarios for hydrogen deployment and innovation across the energy system and supply chain.

♦ Key insights discusses the insights and an overview of the outputs from the implementation of the UK deployment scenarios in whole energy system modelling.

♦ Hydrogen production storage and distribution and demand explore these areas in more detail setting out the current state and potential trajectories for hydrogen in each sector both globally and in the UK up to 2050.

This report can also be downloaded free on the Hydrogen Innovation Initative website.

Future pathways for Great Britain’s energy system decarbonization have highlighted the importance of lowcarbon hydrogen as an energy carrier and demand flexibility support. However the potential application within various sectors (heating industry transport) and production capacity through different technologies (methane reformation with carbon capture biomass gasification electrolysis) is highly varying introducing substantial uncertainties for hydrogen infrastructure development. This study sets out infrastructure priorities and identifies locational flexibility for hydrogen supply and demand options. Advances on limitations of previous research are made by developing an open-source model of the hydrogen system of Great Britain based on three Net Zero scenarios set out by National Grid in their Future Energy Scenarios in high temporal and spatial resolution. The model comprehensively covers demand sectors and supply options in addition to extending the locational considerations of the Future Energy Scenarios. This study recommends prioritizing the establishment of green hydrogen hubs in the near-term aligning with demands for synthetic fuels production industry and power which can facilitate the subsequent roll out of up to 10GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2050. The analysis quantifies a high proportion of hydrogen supply and demand which can be located flexibly.

The current global energy environment is experiencing a substantial shift towards minimizing carbon emissions and enhancing sustainability due to persistent problems. Demand for sustainable end-to-end energy solutions has boosted green hydrogen as the solution to decarbonize the world. The current study has identified and evaluated 7 main criteria of 27 sub-criteria for enabling the hydrogen supply Chains for decarbonization using the Fuzzy DEMATEL technique. The results show that the most prominent enablers criteria under causal factors are: cluster-based approach for developing a green hub Cost and investment decisions Hydrogen trade policy and regulatory actions and Technology. The effect group factors include: Assessment of ecological concerns- Ecology effect Availability of Energy sources and Awareness and public outreach. This study offers insights to understand the dynamics of the hydrogen supply chains and its way ahead towards decarbonization and transition towards a low-carbon economy. This research helps various academic and industrial stakeholders to give pace to green hydrogen uptake as a vital decarbonization tool and act as a base for strategic and collaborative decisions for a resilient and responsible energy landscape.

Though being attractive on railway decarbonisation for regional lines excessive cost caused by immature hydrogen supply chain is one of the significant hurdles for promoting hydrogen traction to rolling stocks. Therefore we conduct bespoke research on the UK’s hydrogen supply chain for railway concentrating on hydrogen transportation. Firstly a map for the planned hydrogen production plants and potential hydrogen lines is developed with the location capacity and usage. A spatially explicit model for the hydrogen supply chain is then introduced which optimises the existing grid-based methodology on accuracy and applicability. Compressed hydrogen at three pressures and liquid hydrogen are considered as the mediums incorporating by road and rail transport. Furthermore three scenarios for hydrogen rail penetration are simulated respectively to discuss the levelised cost and the most suitable national transport network. The results show that the developed model with mix-integer linear programming (MILP) can well design the UK’s hydrogen distribution for railway traction. Moreover the hydrogen transport medium and vehicle should adjust to suit for different era where the penetration of hydrogen traction varies. The levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH) decreases from 6.13 £/kg to 5.13 £/kg on average from the conservative scenario to the radical scenario. Applying different transport combinations according to the specific situation can satisfy the demand while reducing cost for multi-supplier and multitargeting hydrogen transport.

This paper presents a comprehensive safety assessment of hydrogen production using Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE). The study utilizes various risk assessment methodologies including Hazard Identification (HAZID) What-If analysis Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) Event Tree Analysis (ETA) and Bow Tie analysis to systematically identify and evaluate potential hazards associated with the AWE process. Key findings include the identification of critical hazards such as hydrogen leaks oxygen-related risks and maintenance challenges. The assessment emphasizes the importance of robust safety measures including preventive and mitigative strategies to manage these risks effectively. Consequence modeling highlights significant threat zones for thermal radiation and explosion risks underscoring the need for comprehensive safety protocols and emergency response plans. This work contributes valuable insights into hydrogen safety providing a framework for risk assessment and mitigation in hydrogen production facilities crucial for the safe and sustainable development of hydrogen infrastructure in the global energy transition.

This study explored the applications of liquid hydrogen (LH2 ) in aerospace projects followed by an investigation into the efficiency of ramjets scramjets and turbojets for hypersonic flight and the impact of grey blue and green hydrogen as an alternative to JP-7 and JP-8 (kerosene fuel). The advantage of LH2 as a propellant in the space sector has emerged from the relatively high energy density of hydrogen per unit volume enabling it to store more energy compared to conventional fuels. Hydrogen also has the potential to decarbonise space flight as combustion of LH2 fuel produces zero carbon emissions. However hydrogen is commonly found in hydrocarbons and water and thus it needs to be extracted from these molecular compounds before use. Only by considering the entire lifecycle of LH2 including the production phase can its sustainability be understood. The results of this study compared the predicted Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) emissions of the production of LH2 using grey blue and green hydrogen for 2030 with conventional fuel (JP-7 and JP-8) and revealed that the total carbon emissions over the lifecycle of LH2 were greater than kerosene-derived fuels.

To achieve the net zero carbon emissions goals by 2050 the transition to cleaner forms and carriers of energy should be accelerated without though jeopardizing the public safety. Although hydrogen has been deemed to play significant role in the energy transition for years now there are still concerns for its risks that hamper its widespread implementation in several applications like for instance automobile applications. Hydrogen-powered vehicles raise concerns about their safety especially inside confined spaces like tunnels and thus research on that topic has been intensified during the last years. In this context experiments have been conducted by UK HSE within the EU-funded project HyTunnel-CS to examine hydrogen dispersion and deflagration inside a scaled tunnel resulting from fuel cell car bus and train release.<br/>In this work that was also carried out within the HyTunnel-CS we present the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the HSE unignited experiments. Blowdown tests related to high-pressure hydrogen releases through Thermal Pressure Relief Device (TPRD) installed in car and in train were modeled using the ADREA-HF code. The scope of these simulations was two-fold: a) contribute to the design of the experiments (e.g. indicate sensor positioning ignition point etc.) and the interpretation of hydrogen behavior and b) validate the CFD code. For the former pre-test simulations preceded the experiments to provide design recommendations. When the experiments were conducted the measurements were used for the code validation. Overall the CFD results are in satisfactory agreement with the experiments. Finally simulations with different ventilation rates and with model vehicles inside the tunnel were conducted to examine their effect on mixture dispersion and tunnel safety.

The depletion and overuse of fossil fuels present formidable challenge to energy supply system and environment. The human society is in great need of clean renewable and sustainable energy which can guarantee the long-term utilization without leading to escalation of greenhouse effect. Hydrogen as an extraordinary secondary energy is capable of realizing the target of environmental protection and transferring the intermittent primary energy to the application terminal while its nature of low volumetric energy density and volatility need suitable storage method and proper carrier. In this context liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) among a series of storage methods such as compressed and liquefied hydrogen provokes a considerable amount of research interest since it is proven to be a suitable carrier for hydrogen with safety and stability. However the dehydrogenation of hydrogen-rich LOHC materials is an endothermic process and needs large energy consumption which hampers the scale up of the LOHC system. The heat issue is thus essential to be addressed for fulfilling the potential of LOHC. In this work several strategies of heat intensification and management for LOHC system including the microwave irradiation circulation of exhaust heat and direct LOHC fuel cell are summarized and analyzed to provide suggestions and directions for future research.