Opinion

Is the UK set to become the ‘Hydrogen Nation’?

A leading campaign group is launching an industry-wide survey to discover the ‘State of the Hydrogen Nation’ ahead of the expected publication of the UK’s Hydrogen Strategy in June.
Members of the cross-industry Hydrogen Strategy Now (HSN) group, which combined employ more than 100,000 people and have a value of £100bn in the UK, stand ready to invest up to £3bn in hydrogen projects and create thousands of jobs across the country.
The group is launching a survey to find out the true scale of the sector that already exists in the UK – and to highlight the untapped potential that could be boosted by the introduction of an ambitious hydrogen strategy from the Government.
The HSN campaign is encouraging as many organisations as possible with links to hydrogen to get involved – whether they are HSN members or not.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “Today, industry stands ready to invest, create lots of high-quality jobs and deliver net zero gains, and we’re keen to demonstrate this via our survey.
“We’re hoping for a high response rate so we can showcase the true potential of the sector and the scale of its economic, job creation and environmental ambitions.
“As a collective, the Hydrogen Strategy Now group believes the UK has what it takes to become a global leader in low-carbon hydrogen technology, but we must move fast to realise this opportunity and achieve the maximum economic benefit.
“Hydrogen will play an essential role in the world’s future, low-carbon economy – and with the government setting even more ambitious climate change targets, now is the perfect time to unlock the UK’s hydrogen potential.”
The group was established last year to call for the government to make a serious commitment to invest in hydrogen technologies and to publish a clear, strategic plan for hydrogen to unlock significant private funding.
They HSN collective, which has 60 members and support from 67 cross-party peers and MPs, believes a UK-wide hydrogen economy will:

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  • Create and sustain hundreds of thousands of high-skilled, green jobs, in all parts of the country and in alignment with the government’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda
  • Drive progress to net zero and improve air quality in towns and cities
  • Secure private investment into the UK, and unlock export opportunities for products and skills
  • Increase energy security by making fuller use of the UK’s natural resources

Share your views on the UK having a hydrogen economy in the survey, which can be found here. The survey is open for respondents until 11.59pm on Sunday May 7.