Hydrogen Supply Chains

Clive Betts Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

Six Members are indicating that they want to speak. We have about 45 minutes, so that means a maximum seven minutes for each speech from Back Benchers. I call Wera Hobhouse.

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[Jim Allister]

The range for hydrogen is excellent, but when drivers get to the end of that range, they need somewhere to refuel it readily. The refuelling is quick: a hydrogen bus can be refuelled in 10 minutes. It is not a lengthy process, as it sometimes can be for electric buses. The technology for hydrogen is good and is developing at pace, but the infrastructure is the drawback. That is what is holding us back.

I say to the Government: let us do it in tandem. Let us of course continue to develop the excellent technology that we have, and the world leaders that we have in it, but let us synchronise that with ensuring that the infrastructure is there to match it.

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

Back-Bench speeches must finish in time for the Front-Bench speeches to begin by 10.28 am. Thank you everyone so far for your co-operation.

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[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

I thank all hon. Members for their co-operation. I said to one hon. Member, quite rightly, that if you come late to the debate, you do not really expect to get called. Equally, if hon. Members speak in the debate, I expect them to stay and listen to other Members’ contributions. I shall be making that point to at least one hon. Member at the end of the debate. We shall move on to the Front Benchers. You can probably each have 12 minutes or so, but please make sure a bit of time is allowed at the end for the mover of the debate to wind up.

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[Claire Young]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention, and I am grateful for the support of the wider south-west mafia.

Hydrogen UK has reported that unlocking storage infrastructure investment is urgently needed as the sector could require 3.4 TWh of large-scale hydrogen storage by 2030, which could increase to 9.8 TWh by 2035. Projects in the UK are currently smaller and lack visibility so project developers and off-takers stick with their international suppliers, and there is the ever-present problem for all small businesses of navigating the so-called valley of death as they grow.

The Liberal Democrats want to see investment in research and development of new green energy sources, which will be vital for developing new green hydrogen technologies and breaking our dependence on fossil fuels. We support a transition to clean, home-grown renewable energy sources to reinstate the UK as a world leader in renewable energy, to improve energy security and to bring down consumer energy bills: the importance of long-term storage to achieve that was highlighted in the introduction. Disappointingly, the previous Conservative Government failed to act with anything close to the speed or ambition that this challenge demands, and Putin’s barbaric and illegal invasion of Ukraine has exposed the risks of relying on countries that may seek to exploit dependence on fossil fuels and use it to their advantage.

Britan can lead the way on hydrogen innovation with our history of expertise, pioneering businesses and research institutions, but the Government have been criticised for failing to invest comparable amounts of capital funding in hydrogen to the level that other regions do. Hydrogen UK has called on the Government to support business-led innovation programmes, which would anchor supply chain growth into the UK and support collaboration with private business investment into key areas of the hydrogen supply chain. It has also called for a nationwide supply chain programme to leverage private investment into UK supply chains and key supply chain technologies, and to support both existing companies to pivot and new companies to enter the hydrogen market.

We want the Government to commit to winding down the oil and gas industry, but that must come hand in hand with a detailed plan for the redeployment of skills and local jobs. The economic impact assessment done by Hydrogen UK estimates that hydrogen can deliver significant economic benefits, including 30,000 jobs annually and £7 billion of gross value added by 2030. Trade unions in the industry are united in calling for substantial funding to build domestic renewable manufacturing but, disappointingly, the Chancellor did not commit to that in her most recent spending review. We urge the Government to invest in upskilling the existing workforce in adjacent sectors such as oil and gas, and to secure the investment that is needed to realise the job-creating potential of the green just transition.

Another key mechanism would be to link the UK emissions trading scheme with the EU’s, implementing a UK carbon border adjustment mechanism, making the business case stronger for low-carbon hydrogen in domestic supply chains, and adopt green procurement policies that support clean supply chain development. Finally, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Ed Davey) has repeatedly called for a sovereign green wealth fund to reinvest wind-generated revenues into green industries including hydrogen, promoting decarbonisation and manufacturing job creation across the UK.

To conclude, we urge the Government to put in place a comprehensive plan to support low-carbon technology for industries and homes, in particular to make the UK a world leader in hydrogen.

[Mr Clive Betts (in the Chair)]

I have had a note from the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) explaining why he had to leave the debate. I fully accept his explanation and apology, and thank him for giving it to me.