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The transport sector represented less than 1% of hydrogen demand in the UK in 2024, according to new statistics from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
Hydrogen demand in the UK is “small relative to other fuels” at around 2% of the demand for natural gas the Department said, in a summary produced as part of its regular Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) publication, which looks at both demand and supply.
The summary made it clear why dedicated hydrogen transport infrastructure such as pipelines has not developed in the UK. Most hydrogen in the country is produced in fuel refineries as a by-product of catalytic reforming, and more than 80% of production was as a by-product in 2024. The same refineries also represent 70% of total demand for hydrogen.
Other hydrogen users are the chemicals industry, where it is used both as a fuel for high temperature processes and as a feedstock in chemicals production (‘non-energy’ use). The chemicals sector and non-energy demand for hydrogen accounted for 27% of total demand in 2024.
Other industries, including transport, are most likely to use hydrogen in fuel cells to power buildings or vehicles, DESNZ said, and each of these sectors made up less than 1% of total hydrogen demand in 2024.
On production, annual hydrogen production was 14 TWh in the UK on average between 2022 and 2024, around 4 per cent of UK natural gas production in the same period. Less than 20 per cent was produced using steam reforming of natural gas. Hydrogen production from other fuels fell to zero in 2024, having made up 1-2 per cent of production in 2022 and 2023.
