Opinion

Budget 2021: Hope for hydrogen hub

Green entrepreneur Jo Bamford said: “The PM has said the UK will be “putting a big bet on hydrogen” and the Budget’s green light for the Freeport East Hydrogen Hub is a major step towards delivering on these words. The Freeport East Hydrogen Hub will support the creation of thousands of green jobs and feature innovative uses in hydrogen for zero emissions buses, construction equipment, marine and agriculture. Crucially, these UK-made Net Zero technologies can be in use within 12 months and will place East Anglia at the forefront of the global hydrogen economy.”
George Kieffer, chairman, Freeport East Project Board, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by the Chancellor as one of the first new Freeports in the UK for a number of years. Freeport East offers a unique opportunity to build a truly global trade hub at the same time as accelerating opportunities in green energy and helping level-up the economy. We look forward to working with Government to further develop our business plan and to realising the potential that this opportunity represents.”
Julia Pyke, financing director of Sizewell C, added: “This is a great step forward for the East of England. The Freeport East Hydrogen Hub will deliver on six parts of the PM’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution. The Chancellor’s commitment to Freeport East will now turbo-charge private investment in Net Zero nuclear and hydrogen technology across East Anglia and support the development of one of the world’s most exciting and innovative decarbonisation projects.
“We will now develop our hydrogen offering in close cooperation with the port and with the Suffolk councils in order to get national competitive advantage by pursuing things at scale and speed.”