Policy & Socio-Economics

The Hydrogen Taskforce welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Business Energy and

Industrial Strategy Committee’s inquiry into post-pandemic economic growth.

It is the Taskforce’s view that:

• Due to its various applications hydrogen is critical for the UK to reach net zero by 2050;
• The UK holds world-class advantages in hydrogen production distribution and application;
• Other economies are moving ahead in the development of this sector and the UK must respond;
• The post pandemic economic recovery planning should reflect the need to achieve deep decarbonisation and support wider objectives such as achieving net zero and levelling up the
• economy; and 
• The hydrogen sector is well-placed to play a key role in the UK’s economic recovery with the right policies and financial structures in place.

The Taskforce has defined a set of policy recommendations for Government which are designed to ensure that hydrogen can scale to meet the future demands of a net zero energy system:

• Development of a cross departmental UK Hydrogen Strategy within UK Government;
• Commit £1bn of capex funding over the next spending review period to hydrogen production storage and distribution projects;
• Develop a financial support scheme for the production of hydrogen in blending industry power and transport;
• Amend Gas Safety Management Regulations (GSMR) to enable hydrogen blending and take the next steps towards 100 per cent hydrogen heating through supporting public trials and
• mandating 100 per cent hydrogen-ready boilers by 2025; and
• Commit to the support of 100 Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) by 2025 to support the rollout of hydrogen transport.

You can download the whole document from the Hydrogen Taskforce website here

Energy from hydrogen is an appropriate technological choice in the context of sustainable development. The opportunities offered by the use of energy from hydrogen also represent a significant challenge for mobile technologies and daily life. Nevertheless despite a significant amount of research and information regarding the benefits of hydrogen energy it creates considerable controversy in many countries. Globally there is a lack of understanding about the production process of hydrogen energy and the benefits it provides which leads to concerns regarding the consistency of its use. In this study an original questionnaire was used as a research tool to determine the opinions of inhabitants of countries in which hydrogen energy is underutilized and where the infrastructure for hydrogen energy is underdeveloped. Respondents presented their attitude to ecology and indicated their knowledge regarding the operation of hydrogen energy and the use of hydrogen fuel. The results indicate that society is not convinced that the safety levels for energy derived from hydrogen are adequate. It can be concluded that knowledge about hydrogen as an energy source and the production safety and storage methods of hydrogen is very low. Negative attitudes to hydrogen energy can be an important barrier in the development of this energy in many countries.

Seizing the clean growth opportunity. The move to cleaner economic growth is one of the greatest industrial opportunities of our time. This Strategy will ensure Britain is ready to seize that opportunity. Our modern Industrial Strategy is about increasing the earning power of people in every part of the country. We need to do that while not just protecting but improving the environment on which our economic success depends. In short we need higher growth with lower carbon emissions. This approach is at the heart of our Strategy for clean growth. The opportunity for people and business across the country is huge. The low carbon economy could grow 11 per cent per year between 2015 and 2030 four times faster than the projected growth of the economy as a whole. This is spread across a large number of sectors: from low cost low carbon power generators to more efficient farms; from innovators creating better batteries to the factories putting them in less polluting cars; from builders improving our homes so they are cheaper to run to helping businesses become more productive. This growth will not just be seen in the UK. Following the success of the Paris Agreement where Britain played such an important role in securing the landmark deal the transition to a global low carbon economy is gathering momentum. We want the UK to capture every economic opportunity it can from this global shift in technologies and services.<br/>Our approach to clean growth is an important element of our modern Industrial Strategy: building on the UK’s strengths; improving productivity across the country; and ensuring we are the best place for innovators and new businesses to start up and grow. A good example of this is offshore wind where costs have halved in just a few years. A combination of sustained commitment – across different Governments – and targeted public sector innovation support harnessing the expertise of UK engineers working in offshore conditions and private sector ingenuity has created the conditions for a new industry to flourish while cutting emissions. We need to replicate this success in sectors across our economy. This Strategy delivers on the challenge that Britain embraced when Parliament passed the Climate Change Act. If we get it right we will not just deliver reduced emissions but also cleaner air lower energy bills for households and businesses an enhanced natural environment good jobs and industrial opportunity. It is an opportunity we will seize.

COVID-19 has led to a global crisis threatening the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable by increasing poverty exacerbating inequalities and damaging long-term economic growth prospects. The report Are We Building Back Better? Evidence from 2020 and Pathways for Inclusive Green Recovery Spending provides an analysis of over 3500 fiscal policies announced by leading economies in 2020 and calls for governments to invest more sustainably and tackle inequalities as they stimulate growth in the wake of the devastation wrought by the pandemic.

Our mission is to put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles and for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040. As set out in the NO2 plan we will end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040. By then we expect the majority of new cars and vans sold to be 100% zero emission and all new cars and vans to have significant zero emission capability. By 2050 we want almost every car and van to be zero emission. We want to see at least 50% and as many as 70% of new car sales and up to 40% of new van sales being ultra low emission by 2030.<br/>We expect this transition to be industry and consumer led supported in the coming years by the measures set out in this strategy. We will review progress towards our ambitions by 2025. Against a rapidly evolving international context we will seek to maintain the UK’s leadership position and meet our ambitions and will consider what interventions are required if not enough progress is being made.

Deployment and investments in hydrogen have accelerated rapidly in response to government commitments to deep decarbonisation establishing hydrogen as a key component in the energy transition.

To help guide regulators decision-makers and investors the Hydrogen Council collaborated with McKinsey & Company to release the report ‘Hydrogen Insights 2021: A Perspective on Hydrogen Investment Deployment and Cost Competitiveness’. The report offers a comprehensive perspective on market deployment around the world investment momentum as well as implications on cost competitiveness of hydrogen solutions.

The document can be downloaded from their website

Low-cost solar photovoltaics and wind offer a reliable and affordable pathway to deep decarbonization of energy which accounts for three quarters of global emissions. However large-scale deployment of solar photovoltaics and wind requires space and may be challenging for countries with dense population and high per capita energy consumption. This study investigates the future role of renewable energy in Japan as a case study. A 40-year hourly energy balance model is presented of a hypothetical 100% renewable Japanese electricity system using representative demand data and historical meteorological data. Pumped hydro energy storage high voltage interconnection and dispatchable capacity (existing hydro and biomass and hydrogen energy produced from curtailed electricity) are included to balance variable generation and demand. Differential evolution is used to find the least-cost solution under various constraints. This study shows that Japan has 14 times more solar and offshore wind resources than needed to supply 100% renewable electricity and vast capacity for off-river pumped hydro energy storage. Assuming significant cost reductions of solar photovoltaics and offshore wind towards global norms in the coming decades driven by large-scale deployment locally and global convergence of renewable generation costs the levelized cost of electricity is found to be US$86/Megawatt-hour for a solar-dominated system and US$110/Megawatt-hour for a wind-dominated system. These costs can be compared with 2020 average system prices on the spot market in Japan of US$102/Megawatt-hour. Cost of balancing 100% renewable electricity in Japan ranges between US$20–27/Megawatt-hour for a range of scenarios. In summary Japan can be self-sufficient for electricity supply at competitive costs provided that the barriers to the mass deployment of solar photovoltaics and offshore wind in Japan are overcome.

Scotland’s Achievements and Ambitions for Clean Hydrogen - a joint webinar between the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association and the Pipeline Industries Guild (Scottish branch).

 

Nigel Holmes. CEO Scottish Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association provides an update on Scotland’s ambitions backed up by progress in key areas. This will show the potential for hydrogen at scale to support the delivery of policy targets highlighting areas of key strengths for Scotland.



You will also hear about the need to build up scale for hydrogen production and supply in tandem with hydrogen pipeline and distribution networks in order to meet demand for low carbon energy and achieve key milestones on the pathway to Net Zero by 2045.

Since early 2020 Turkey has been considering the role of hydrogen in its energy future with a view to producing a hydrogen strategy in the next few months.  Unlike many other countries considering the role of hydrogen Turkey has only recently (October 2021) ratified the Paris Agreement addressing climate change and its interest is driven more by geopolitical strategic and energy security concerns.   Specifically with concerns about the high share of imported energy particularly gas from Russia it sees hydrogen as part of a policy to increase indigenous energy production.   Turkey already has a relatively high share of renewable power generation particularly hydro and recent solar auctions have resulted in low prices leading to a focus on potential green hydrogen production.  However it still generates over half of its electricity from fossil fuel including over 25% from coal and lignite.  Against that background it provides an interesting case study on some of the key aspects that a country needs to consider when looking to incorporate low-carbon hydrogen into the development of their energy economy.

The research paper can be found on their website

For more than a century our nation’s brightest minds have been working on the technology to turn the invisible promise of hydrogen into tangible solutions. Canadian ingenuity and innovation has once again brought us to a pivotal moment. As we rebuild our economy from the impacts of COVID-19 and fight the existential threat of climate change the development of low-carbon hydrogen is a strategic priority for Canada. The time to act is now.<br/>The Hydrogen Strategy for Canada lays out an ambitious framework for actions that will cement hydrogen as a tool to achieve our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 and position Canada as a global industrial leader of clean renewable fuels. This strategy shows us that by 2050 clean hydrogen can help us achieve our net-zero goal—all while creating jobs growing our economy and protecting our environment. This will involve switching from conventional gasoline diesel and natural gas to zero-emissions fuel sources taking advantage of new regulatory environments and embracing new technologies to give Canadians more choice of zero emission alternatives.<br/>As one of the top 10 hydrogen producers in the world today we are rich in the feedstocks that produce hydrogen. We are blessed with a strong energy sector and the geographic assets that will propel Canada to be a major exporter of hydrogen and hydrogen technologies. Hydrogen might be nature’s smallest molecule but its potential is enormous. It provides new markets for our conventional energy resources and holds the potential to decarbonize many sectors of our economy including resource extraction freight transportation power generation manufacturing and the production of steel and cement. This Strategy is a call to action. It will spur investments and strategic partnerships across the country and beyond our borders. It will position Canada to seize economic and environmental opportunities that exist coast to coast. Expanding our exports. Creating as many as 350000 good green jobs over the next three decades. All while dramatically reducing our greenhouse gas emissions. And putting a net-zero future within our reach.<br/>The importance of Canada’s resource industries and our clean technology sectors has been magnified during the pandemic. We must harness our combined will expertise and financial resources to fully seize the opportunities that hydrogen presents. This strategy is the product of three years of study and analysis including extensive engagement sessions where we heard from more than 1500 of our country’s leading experts and stakeholders. But its release is not the end of a process. This is only the beginning. Together we will use this Strategy to guide our actions and investments. By working with provinces and territories Indigenous partners and the private-sector and by leveraging our many advantages we will create the prosperity we all want protect the planet we all cherish and we will ensure we leave no one behind.