Dr Tony Ballance, Chief Strategy & Regulation Officer at Cadent, the UK’s largest gas distribution network which manages a network of more than 80,000 miles of pipes, most of them underground, and which transports gas to 11 million customers, said he welcomed the release of the Government’s Hydrogen Strategy as a great first step in promoting the use of the gas, but added there were opportunities for the UK to go further and faster.
“It’s great to finally see the Government’s long-awaited Hydrogen Strategy being published. It will help to accelerate progress towards Net Zero, create new, green jobs across the UK and strengthen our energy security. We’re particularly supportive of the plans to introduce the blending of hydrogen into the wider gas network. It’s a logical, low risk key stepping stone that requires no new technology or behaviour changes from households; will stimulate millions of pounds of investment into hydrogen production; and will save carbon emissions equivalent to removing 2.5m cars from our roads.
“So while this Hydrogen Strategy is an excellent start, we believe there are opportunities for the UK to go further and at a faster pace to ensure we’re at the forefront of the hydrogen revolution. We need hydrogen at scale to enable us to achieve Net Zero. We know that in the north west alone, 3GW of hydrogen could be produced by the HyNet project Cadent is part of, with up to £2bn of private investment being deployed and creating wider economic growth. We will continue to work closely with the Government to turn hydrogen targets into carbon reductions and new jobs, and hope to see the minister’s hydrogen ambitions continue to grow.”
The UK’s first government Hydrogen Strategy outlines:
● How the UK will rapidly and significantly scale up production and lay the foundations for a low carbon hydrogen economy by 2030
● How Government will support innovation and stimulate investment in the 2020s to scale up low carbon hydrogen.
