Tens of thousands of jobs, billions of pounds in investment and new export opportunities will be unlocked through government proposals for hydrogen deployment in the 海角视频.
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has set out plans to be realised over the next decade and beyond.
The 海角视频’s first-ever Hydrogen Strategy drives forward commitments laid out in the Prime Minister’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution, setting the foundation for how government will work with industry to meet its ambition for 5GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. It could replace natural gas in powering the equivalent of three million 海角视频 homes each year, with transport and heavy industry seen as crucial.
A booming 海角视频-wide hydrogen economy could be worth £900 million and create over 9,000 high-quality jobs by 2030, potentially rising to 100,000 jobs and worth up to £13 billion by 2050. Hydrogen could play an important role in decarbonising polluting, energy-intensive industries like chemicals, oil refineries, power and heavy transport like shipping, HGV lorries and trains, by helping these sectors move away from fossil fuels.
Mr Kwarteng said: “Today marks the start of the 海角视频’s hydrogen revolution. This home-grown clean energy source has the potential to transform the way we power our lives and will be essential to tackling climate change and reaching Net Zero.
“With the potential to provide a third of the 海角视频’s energy in the future, our strategy positions the 海角视频 as first in the global race to ramp up hydrogen technology and seize the thousands of jobs and private investment that come with it.”
Analysis suggests that 20 to 35 per cent of the 海角视频’s energy consumption by 2050 could be hydrogen-based, this new energy source could be critical to meet our targets of net zero emissions by 2050 and cutting emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 – a view shared by the 海角视频’s independent Climate Change Committee.
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Energy & Climate Change Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “Today’s Hydrogen Strategy sends a strong signal globally that we are committed to building a thriving low carbon hydrogen economy that could deliver hundreds of thousands of high-quality green jobs, helps millions of homes transition to green energy, support our key industrial heartlands to move away from fossil fuels and bring in significant investment.”
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The government’s approach is to be based on the 海角视频’s previous success with offshore wind, where early government action coupled with strong private sector backing has earned the 海角视频 a world-leading status. One of the main tools is the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which incentivises investment in renewable energy by providing developers with direct protection from volatile wholesale prices and protects consumers from paying increased support costs when electricity prices are high.
A public consultation has now launched on a preferred hydrogen business model which, built on a similar premise to the offshore wind CfDs, is designed to overcome the cost gap between low carbon hydrogen and fossil fuels, helping the costs of low-carbon alternatives to fall quickly. The design of a £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund is also being consulted on - it aims to support the commercial deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production plants across the 海角视频.
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