Government unveils funding round to boost UK’s £9bn hydrogen agenda
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has met with industry leaders to boost the country’s hydrogen ambitions.
The Government held a hydrogen investment summit today, where Kwarteng revealed plans to unlock £9bn of investment to strengthen hydrogen’s role in the UK’s energy mix.
This includes the world’s first national clean hydrogen subsidiary scheme opened by the UK, where the Government will use a contracts-for-difference style set-up to help finance an initial 1GW of green hydrogen projects by 2025 – enough hydrogen to fuel up to 45,000 buses per year.
The funding round will help power Government plans to reach 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030, in line with the supply security strategy unveiled in April.
In recent months, the government has also opened applications for the £240m Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, and has also published the Hydrogen Investor Roadmap.
Energy Minister Greg Hands has further announced the opening of the joint allocation round for electrolytic (green) hydrogen projects.
Under this joint round, funding is available from both the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund , and the Hydrogen Business Model.
Green hydrogen uses an electrical current to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water.
This provides a highly efficient energy source with minimal carbon emissions, which could be used to power heavy good vehicles or public transport.
The Government hopes making the UK a leader in green hydrogen will attract billions of pounds in inward investment and supporting 12,000 jobs across the country.
Alongside the funding rounds, Kwarteng has confirmed the appointment of Jane Toogood as the UK’s first Hydrogen Champion.
She will work to bring industry and government together to realise the country’s hydrogen ambitions – including the running of annual allocation rounds for green hydrogen, and designing new business models for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure.
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “The UK’s hydrogen sector is open for business. With the right investment, we can unlock the enormous potential of hydrogen by reindustrialising our economy and ending our dependency on expensive fossil fuels.”