Innovative hydrogen projects to receive £60m government fund
Companies developing hydrogen projects are set to receive up to £60m of government funding to grow the sector and help the UK transition to renewable energy.
28 projects across the UK will benefit from the fund, including developments in Scotland, Wales and north England, after making it through the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 (HySupply 2) competition.
The money will go towards the expansion of the projects and any research required, as the government is eager for low carbon hydrogen to become more practical, affordable and widely used.
It’s hoped this move will drive the UK hydrogen industry, reduce costs and bring new low-carbon solutions to the market.
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: ‘The British Energy Security Strategy made clear that we are backing hydrogen not just as a viable source of clean, affordable homegrown energy but as an emerging industry of the future in which the UK can lead the world.
‘This funding will accelerate the development of this exciting new industry, helping position us as a hydrogen superpower on the global stage.’
Among the 28 winners, Yorkshire-based ITM Power will receive £9.2m to build a 5MW electrolyser stack, which separates hydrogen and oxygen in a vat of water using electricity.
Another winner, Cadent Gas Limited in the West Midlands, will get £296,174 to research how hydrogen which has been through the gas grid can be purified before being transported in lorries.
The government announced in the recent Energy Security Strategy, released in April, aims to boost hydrogen capacity up to 10 GW by 2030 which could create up to 12,000 jobs.
Participants in the HySupply 2 competition had to bid against each other, with funding going to projects deemed to have the most potential to develop low-carbon hydrogen solutions.
In related news, the UK’s first Hydrogen Village may be built in Whitby, Ellesmere Port in 2025 to demonstrate how the country could use eco-friendly energy.
Photo by Sigmund