Hydrogen Champion Report
Hydrogen presents a significant growth opportunity across all regions of the UK, supporting decarbonisation and improving energy security, while system balancing our renewable power generation. It is also the only route for a significant portion of our existing energy intensive industry to decarbonise. Our natural advantages of plentiful renewable energy from offshore wind and one third of Europe’s potential CO2 storage position the UK for rapid progress.
The UK Government showed early policy leadership with the publication of our world-leading Hydrogen Strategy in August 2021. BEIS and now the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) have created a policy framework to develop a hydrogen market that will underpin the next stage of market growth.
Other countries have also mobilised to realise the opportunities presented by hydrogen. In the United States, recent legislation provides very significant government subsidies for low carbon hydrogen production, which risks drawing investment away from the UK. Canada, the EU and individual EU member states are following with ambitious incentives and investment in largescale projects to develop hydrogen production and attract supply chain investment.
Now is the time for further action: significant private sector finance is needed to deliver the UK's ambitions. While global investors and major industry players have substantial funding available, not least because some industries cannot decarbonise without hydrogen, they are weighing up alternative investment options. Some are prioritising opportunities elsewhere, but a sizable number are waiting to see how projects develop in the UK
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