Offering a huge boost to the UK hydrogen economy, the strategy includes a £140m ($193m) Industrial and Hydrogen Revenue Support scheme to accelerate industrial hydrogen, as well as carbon capture, in order to bridge the gap between industrial energy costs from gas and hydrogen and throw support behind green hydrogen projects.
As part of this, two carbon capture clusters – Hynet Cluster in North West England and North Wales and the East Coast Cluster in Teesside and the Humber – will be backed by a further £1bn ($1.3bn) of government support. Other carbon capture projects will benefit from the wider Net Zero Strategy scheme.
Mobility is also set to receive a zero-emissions makeover, with an extra £350m ($482m) of the government’s up to £1bn ($1.3bn) commitment to support the electrification of UK vehicles and another £620m for targeted electric vehicle grants and infrastructure for zero-emissions vehicles, such as those powered by hydrogen.
From road to air, the strategy also states that the UK Government is working to kick-start the commercialisation of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from sustainable materials such as carbon captured from the atmosphere, flue gases from industry and much more. Some companies are also evaluating hydrogen to manufacture SAF.
The above, along with other plans detailed in the Net Zero Strategy, both support the UK Prime Minister’s Prime Minister’s 10-Point Plan, unveiled in November last year (2020), and the UK’s first-ever Hydrogen Strategy which was released earlier this year to focus on establishing a country-wide hydrogen society.
On the latest commitment to achieve net zero, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said, “The UK’s path to ending our contribution to climate change will be paved with well-paid jobs, billions in investment and thriving green industries – powering our green industrial revolution across the country.
“By moving first to taking bold action, we will build a defining competitive edge in electric vehicles, offshore wind, carbon capture technology and more, whilst supporting people and businesses along the way. With the major climate summit COP26 just around the corner, our strategy sets the example for other countries to build back greener too as we lead the charge towards global net zero.”
In addition to the above, the Net Zero Strategy also proposed and extra £500m ($689m) towards innovation projects to develop green technologies, £3.9bn ($5.3bn) of new funding for decarbonising heat and buildings, £124m ($171m) to boost the UK’s Nature for Climate Fund and £120m towards the development of nuclear projects.
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, added, “There is a global race to develop new green technology, kick-start new industries and attract private investment. The countries that capture the benefits of this global green industrial revolution will enjoy unrivalled growth and prosperity for decades to come – and it’s our job to ensure the UK is fighting fit.
“Today’s plan will not only unlock billions of pounds of investment to boost the UK’s competitive advantage in green technologies, but will create thousands of jobs in new, future-proof industries – clearly demonstrating that going green and economic growth go hand in hand.”