Hydrogen a preferred option for rural Wales and South West England

A Welsh Government consultation on its future hydrogen policy has set out its “preferred policy” to maximise the potential for hydrogen in Wales.

A statement in the Senedd in 2022 recognised that hydrogen, if sustainably manufactured and deployed, may provide one of the few ways to decarbonise heavy industry through fuel switching, and to reduce emissions in hard-to-abate modes of transportation, notably in heavy goods vehicles, aviation and shipping.

The statement said it is important that any proposal for hydrogen considers its carbon intensity and impact relative to alternative options and that policy objectives must not shift Wales’s net-zero responsibilities and emissions out of Wales, or disincentivise investment in its energy and industrial sectors.

In October 2024 a study published by Hydrogen South West suggested that potentially 7,000 commercial vehicles in the South West of England could be running on hydrogen by 2030 within the region, even in a low-demand scenario with 2% uptake, requiring an indicative supply of up to 88 tonnes of hydrogen per day to support their operations. Other scenarios said the demand could be as high as 10% of all commercial vehicles.

Findings suggest that by 2030, 7,000 vehicles could be running on hydrogen within the region. Andy Clarke, chair of Hydrogen South West and director of integrated transport at Costain, said: “The decarbonisation needs of the South West are very different to those of the rest of England. This largely rural region relies heavily on its roads to get people, goods and services to where they need to be, and our members consistently report that the refuelling needs of their vehicle fleets, which are predominantly light goods vehicles, cannot be met by battery electric technology. This is due to a range of factors including journey pattern and length, payload and topography, challenges for which hydrogen is a far more effective solution.”

The study found that the most effective locations for refuelling stations were Bristol, Bridgewater, Exeter, Plymouth and South West Cornwall. However the group envisaged hydrogen supplies from beyond the region. Stuart Cory, UK sector lead, oil, gas and energy transition at consultants WSP, highlighted “the development of an ecosystem that includes hydrogen refuelling clusters at strategic locations aligned to the existing M5-A38-A30 corridor and close to projects such as Dorset Green H2, Exeter H2 Hub, HyHaul and Langage Green.”