Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of hydrogen technology to help decarbonise (a) transport, (b) heating and (c) heavy industry.
Hydrogen is a potential decarbonisation option across multiple economic sectors, including transport, heat, industry and power. Our independent advisors the Committee on Climate Change have suggested that a major increase in hydrogen production is required in order to meet our 2050 net zero target, with a complete switch to low carbon production methods[1].
The Government is committed to exploring the option of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, alongside electricity. In line with this we are investing up to £121m in hydrogen innovation, supporting a range of projects exploring the potential of low carbon hydrogen across the value chain. This includes the:
Alongside our innovation activity, we are building sustainable policy frameworks to support investment in low carbon hydrogen production, including through progressing a business model to enable this.
[1] Net Zero – Technical Report, Committee on Climate Change, May 2019 - https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-technical-report/