Net zero policy must fully embrace hydrogen, government warned

Hitting the country’s net zero goals is at risk unless the government fully embraces hydrogen as a solution for fuel, infrastructure and vehicles, according to the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (HFCA).

The trade association said it believed a combined hydrogen and electrification strategy was required for the UK to hit its goals, but policies that address hydrogen use as a fuel alone won’t work.

It said this strategy must address infrastructure, hydrogen-powered vehicles and a range of energy vectors that carry the gas too, such as ammonia.

The HFCA added that it should also set targets for hydrogen across different transport modes and infrastructure, underpinned with financial support to enable a hydrogen transport network to flourish.

Explaining how this strategy could work, HFCA chief executive Celia Greaves, said: “The development of hydrogen for transport will proceed in parallel with a system-wide suite of developments as hydrogen scales up to take its role across transport, power, heat and overall system resilience.

“Different components of this journey must not be considered in isolation.”

Greaves said hydrogen was vital in reaching net zero and that a clear strategy and more funding was needed to prevent the UK being left behind the rest of the world.

“To date, hydrogen for transport has had to rely on a patchwork of grants and policy levers that share no clear strategy to link and progress all aspects of a hydrogen transport network over the medium term,” she said.