The government has invited views from industry and consumer groups on increasing the amount of hydrogen used in the UK’s gas network to fuel homes and businesses, in a move to help cut emissions, strengthen energy security and create new skilled jobs.
Energy Minister Lord Callanan has launched a consultation on the UK pursuing a process of ‘blending’, to accelerate the creation of a new hydrogen industry.
Hydrogen currently makes up around 0.1% of the gas used in people’s homes and businesses – but proposals could see the volume of hydrogen in the network increase gradually over time, up to a maximum of 20%.
This blending of hydrogen with natural gas in the network could boost hydrogen production – which would in turn cut carbon emissions and strengthen energy security, helping to stabilise bills for families and businesses by making them less susceptible to volatile gas prices.
The views from industry and consumer groups – combined with forthcoming advice from the Health and Safety Executive – will help inform next steps on the use of hydrogen, including through blending.
Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan said: “We want to capture the full economic potential that comes with using hydrogen as a cleaner, reliable energy source – with the opportunity to create tens of thousands of new skilled jobs.
“Blending hydrogen into our gas supply – through existing gas infrastructure – would open the doors to an expansion of its use as a fuel, one which could help us cut emissions and stabilise bills for families and businesses.”
The consultation marks the next step in government’s plans to reach 10GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 - creating over 12,000 new jobs and putting the UK at the forefront of the growing hydrogen market.
Already the government has committed to support the design of business models that will help early projects develop new technology - so hydrogen can be used as a cleaner home-grown energy source that will help stabilise bills for customers.
The energy sector, consumer groups and wider industry have until 27 October 2023 to submit their views to the government’s consultation on ‘Hydrogen Blending into GB gas distribution networks’. The feedback will help inform government’s decision on whether to proceed with blending.
