Legal & Regulatory News

UK Government publishes first-ever Hydrogen Strategy

On 17 August 2021, the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) issued a press release detailing the UK Government's vision to kick-start a world leading hydrogen economy to support in excess of 9,000 UK jobs and release £4bn investment by 2030.

The UK's first-ever 'Hydrogen Strategy' (the Hydrogen Strategy) builds upon the commitments laid out by the UK Prime Minister's 10 Point Plan for a green industrial revolution by aiming to produce 5GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030. Other measures included in the Hydrogen Strategy include:

• outlining a ‘twin track’ approach to supporting multiple technologies including ‘green’ electrolytic and ‘blue’ carbon capture-enabled hydrogen production;
• developing a UK standard for low carbon hydrogen via industry collaboration;
• undertaking a review to support the development of the necessary network and storage infrastructure to underpin a thriving hydrogen sector;
• assessing the safety, technical feasibility, and cost effectiveness of mixing 20% hydrogen into the existing gas supply – in doing so natural gas emissions could be reduced by 7%; and
• launching a hydrogen sector development action plan in early 2022 setting out how the government will support the transition.

BEIS has also released a public consultation on a preferred hydrogen business model designed to overcome the cost gap between low carbon hydrogen and fossil fuels. The consultation closes at 11:45pm on 25 October 2021.

Click here to access the Hydrogen Strategy.

Click here to access the consultation.

Click here to access the press release.