A green hydrogen industry could be worth £320 billion to the 海角视频 economy, sustaining 120,000 jobs by the middle of the century, a new report has revealed.
Through electrolysis of water - provided at scale by offshore wind - it could power the switch to a Net Zero answer, providing flexibility and energy balancing to allow an even greater shift to renewables.
The Offshore Wind Industry Council and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult have released 'The Offshore Wind and Hydrogen: Solving the Integration Challenge Report', examining the potential for hydrogen to play such a role.
It highlights that the 海角视频 has the right level of offshore wind capacity potential, and a strong industrial base, combined with world-leading academic research, to develop a sustainable, low-cost green hydrogen industry.
World-leading developer Orsted is already working with Sheffield-based ITM Power and refinery Phillips 66 on the Humber, with land-based power operators also looking at hydrogen options in the region.
Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge, the offshore wind sector champion and chair of the Solving the Integration Challenge Sector Deal working group set up by OWIC, said: “Offshore wind and hydrogen together form a compelling combination as part of a net-zero economy for the 海角视频, with the potential to make major contributions to jobs, economic growth and regional regeneration as well as attracting inward investment, alongside delivering the emission reductions needed to meet our commitment to net zero.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the 海角视频, we must act with urgency to get this industry operational and build on the 海角视频’s strengths.”
To capitalise fully on this opportunity, the report calls for government intervention now and a new national strategy to support the creation of a supply and demand system. This includes an integrated approach to deliver accelerated deployment, supported by appropriate regulation and policy, targeted research and development, and the infrastructure to carry out full-scale demonstration and validation of new products and services.
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Benj Sykes, industry chair of OWIC and a senior 海角视频 lead for Orsted, said: “This visionary report is a direct result of the landmark Offshore Wind Sector Deal between Government and Industry, involving a wide range of partners collaborating on cutting-edge technology. Offshore wind is on track to become the backbone of our electricity system and that role will become even more important as it becomes the power source to make low-cost renewable hydrogen at scale. The 海角视频 needs to build full-size pathfinder projects as soon as possible to secure our position as a world leader in this exciting new combination of innovative technologies.”
Equinor is behind the Hydrogen to Humber Saltend project, with SSE is looking to bring forward a hydrogen-fired power station up river at Keadby. Other key offshore wind clusters in the North West and North East are also primed to play a key part.
Andrew Jamieson, chief executive of ORE Catapult - fresh from launching the Offshore Wind Operations and Maintenance Centre of Excellence in Grimsby - said: “We firmly believe that the same forces of rapid innovation and scale-up that have underpinned a spectacular drop in the cost of offshore wind, will also apply to hydrogen technologies, such as electrolysers. 海角视频 industry and academia have a lead in this fledgling industry. We have set out a ten-year programme for the 海角视频 to convert these advantages into an economic success story.”