In the wake of an alarming report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last week, which signalled a "code red for humanity" and called for immediate and drastic cuts to global greenhouse gas emissions, the UK government has now released its long-awaited strategy for launching a hydrogen economy in the UK.
Hydrogen is a carbon-free energy source, which can be converted into clean electricity using fuel cells. Hydrogen is widely believed to be an important part of the Energy Transition and a key piece of the puzzle for decarbonising many areas of energy consumption - from transport (including heavy duty, marine and aviation) to domestic heating, stationary power and heavy industry.
The UK's hydrogen strategy aims to unlock £4 billion of investment in the sector and to support over 9,000 jobs in the UK, while creating 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The government further suggests that the UK hydrogen economy could grow to £13 billion and generate 100,000 new green jobs by 2050.
This announcement is welcome news for UK companies innovating in the hydrogen industry, including our client Ceres. Ceres has already experienced worldwide success with their revolutionary solid oxide fuel cell and is now also developing technologies that produce hydrogen, adapting their solid oxide technology to provide a new type of electrolyser.
"Electrolysis is a key method for making green hydrogen from water, and will be crucial for ensuring that the UK's hydrogen supply is emissions free at production as well as at the point of use."
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