Hydrogen will only have a “specific but limited” role in decarbonising the economy and is “not practically or economically viably” for heating homes in the short or medium term, MPs have concluded.
A report by the Commons Science and Technology Committee found that hydrogen is “not a panacea” for reaching net-zero emissions. But it can grow to be a “big niche” fuel.
The government’s focus for heating homes while cutting emissions rests on heat pumps. It has set a target of installing 600,000 a year by 2028. But the UK is currently the slowest country in Europe, with just 1.48 installed per 1,000 households in the UK in 2021, according to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).
Hydrogen-ready gas boilers are seen as an alternative. Last week the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a consultation on improving boiler standards. It argued that there was a case for requiring all boilers to be hydrogen-ready by 2026.
The Committee called on the government to give industry more clarity over how and when it will make decisions about the role of hydrogen in the economy.
Challenges
But it warned that the “significant cost, technological and infrastructure challenges” associated with hydrogen meant that it is not viable for heating homes or fuelling cars in the short or medium term.
Hydrogen is also “overwhelmingly” produced from fossil-fuel intensive processes, it added. It said: “Efficient production of low-carbon ‘green’ hydrogen relies on abundant cheap renewable electricity and so-called ‘blue’ hydrogen requires Carbon Capture and Storage, which is not deployed at the large scale required to make a material contribution to emissions reductions.”
The Committee warned the government that it was therefore “unwise” to assume that hydrogen could make a large contribution to reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions.
And it was “unconvinced” that it will be able to play a widespread role in heating homes by 2026. Although it added that it could be feasible to blend some hydrogen with natural gas. It also argued that the government had “overlooked” the policy for hydrogen metering in homes, with the energy regulator Ofgem unable to say whether current smart meters would be suitable for hydrogen or the cost implications for the consumer if they are not suitable.
‘Not a panacea’
Committee chair and former business secretary Greg Clark MP: “Hydrogen can play an important role in decarbonising the UK’s economy, but it is not a panacea.
“There are significant infrastructure challenges associated with converting our energy networks to use hydrogen and uncertainty about when low-carbon hydrogen can be produced at scale at an economical cost.
“But there are important applications for hydrogen in particular industries so it can be, in the words of one witness to our inquiry, “a big niche”.
“We welcome the government’s high-level strategy and support of hydrogen trials, but future decisions on the role of hydrogen must increasingly be practical, taking into account what is technically and economically achievable. We call on the government to set out a series of decision points, which would give industry the clarity that it needs.”
