Shipping: Tees Valley

(asked on 3rd November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect that developing (a) hydrogen and (b) ammonia production capacity in Teesside to meet increased demand for low emission fuels from the merchant shipping industry will have on employment opportunities for (i) port workers and (ii) seafarers; and what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on developing that capacity in Teeside.


Answered by
Kwasi Kwarteng Portrait
Kwasi Kwarteng
This question was answered on 9th November 2020

Low carbon hydrogen is one of a handful of critical options needed to deliver net zero and presents an opportunity to deliver against our clean growth goals – meeting our decarbonisation needs while capturing commercial opportunities.

DfT-commissioned analysis supporting the Government’s Clean Maritime Plan set out that hydrogen and ammonia, a hydrogen carrier, are expected to play a significant role in decarbonising the maritime sector. The global market for elements of alternative fuel production technologies like hydrogen and ammonia, in which the UK has a strong competitive advantage, could rise to up to £11bn per year by 2050, generating economic benefits to the UK of up to £0.5bn per year by the middle of the century

The proximity of the local port to the Net Zero Teesside industrial project, which aims to produce and use significant quantities of low carbon hydrogen, as well as the recently announced ambition for Tees Valley to become a trailblazing Hydrogen Transport Hub, position the area well to realise significant local benefits.

BEIS ministers and officials continue to work closely with colleagues in the Department for Transport (DfT) in developing our approach to hydrogen, including in end uses such as maritime.

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