Just as the passing of the UK’s longest-reigning monarch has focused our minds on the value of continuity, the election of a new prime minister reminds us that the only constant we can be sure of is change.
Boris Johnson was supportive of clean hydrogen and helped introduce a raft of measures to aid the growth of the industry, including a clean hydrogen production target of 10 GW by 2030, the £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, £26 million for the Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator, and £100 million for the Hydrogen Business Model, a subsidy scheme for green hydrogen production.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, newly appointed Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, used his first speech in the Commons to insist that the government will “accelerate” the rollout of renewables with “vim and vigour, accelerating the deployment of wind, solar and—particularly exciting, I think—hydrogen technologies.”
The business secretary’s view on clean hydrogen echoed that of the Prime Minister, who earlier in the debate stated: “we will speed up our deployment of all clean and renewable technologies including hydrogen, solar, carbon capture and storage, and wind… where we are already the world leader in offshore generation.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg, newly appointed Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, used his first speech in the Commons to insist that the government will “accelerate” the rollout of renewables with “vim and vigour, accelerating the deployment of wind, solar and—particularly exciting, I think—hydrogen technologies.”
The speeches are reassuring for the hydrogen sector.
“We see no reason to anticipate a change in hydrogen policy in the UK following Liz Truss’s election success and are looking forward to working with the administration to realise her recently stated ambition: ‘I want to see us do more on hydrogen’,” says Celia Greaves, CEO of the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association.
Hydrogen UK CEO Clare Jackson said the Trade association looks forward to “working together to accelerate the hydrogen economy, given our shared passion to see Britain take a leading role in the global energy system.”
Boris Johnson’s government laid the foundations for the sustained investment the UK needs to build the hydrogen economy. Liz Truss must build on that legacy and deliver greater financial support, regulatory environment and infrastructure needed to ensure the UK is the hydrogen investment destination of choice.
SOURCE: HYCAP
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