The UK’s first-ever Hydrogen Strategy will unlock over £4 billion in investment and create thousands of jobs in the move to establish a thriving low carbon hydrogen sector in the UK by 2030.
The plan will drive forward the Prime Minister’s ambitious 10-Point Plan for a green industrial revolution by outlining how the UK government will cooperate with industry to achieve 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
A thriving, UK-wide hydrogen economy could be worth over £900 million and create over 9,000 high-quality jobs, which may rise to 100,000 jobs and be worth up to £13 billion by 2050.
The decarbonisation of polluting, energy-intensive industries by 2030 may be possible once these sectors move away from fossil fuels, and towards low-carbon hydrogen. Government funding of £105 million will be provided to support polluting industries slashing their emissions.
Government analysis has suggested that up to 30% of the UK’s energy consumption could be hydrogen-based by 2050. Therefore, this plan to create a low-carbon hydrogen economy could play a crucial role in helping meet our net zero emissions target by 2050 and cutting emissions by 78% by 2035.
Additionally, a hydrogen economy will be a key pillar in the UK’s transition to cleaner energy sources. This low-carbon hydrogen economy could save the equivalent to the carbon captured by 700 million trees by 2032.
Business & Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: “Today marks the start of the UK’s hydrogen revolution. This home-grown clean energy source has the potential to transform the way we power our lives and will be essential to tackling climate change and reaching Net Zero.”
Energy & Climate Change Minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said: “Today’s Hydrogen Strategy sends a strong signal globally that we are committed to building a thriving low carbon hydrogen economy that could deliver hundreds of thousands of high-quality green jobs, helps millions of homes transition to green energy, support our key industrial heartlands to move away from fossil fuels and bring in significant investment.”
Courtesy: Climate Action
