The UK has fallen from second to eighth in an index measuring how ready major economies are to effectively use hydrogen as they look to decarbonise.
The Energy Networks Association (ENA) and Hydrogen UK published research, detailing how since 2021, when the UK published its Hydrogen Strategy, progress has slowed. This has seen the UK missing chances to pass key legislation and much policy uncertainty on funding arrangements. As a result, no major projects have been able to progress to a Final Investment Decision.
While not all doom and gloom, the last two years have still seen the USA, Germany, Japan, Canada, the Netherlands and France all jump the UK. This is particularly problematic given the competition right now when it comes to luring in international investment in energy infrastructure, which has ramped up significantly.
Therefore, to regain momentum, the ENA and Hydrogen UK are calling on industry and government to move faster and be more flexible when it comes to production support; to identify and support strategic infrastructure investment flow; to give clarity on the minimum roles for hydrogen in industry, power, transport and heat, while implementing support measures that “make high carbon expensive and low carbon low cost”; and to maximise the significant economic opportunity that lies in wait by taking steps to stimulate domestic supply chains.
