While the government-backed programme is set to go live this year, the independent group warned it will drive up UK energy bills and argued hydrogen should be reserved for industrial use.

The project will see around 300 homes in Fife switch to hydrogen for heating, hot water, and cooking, representing the UK’s only remaining residential hydrogen trial after pilots in Whitby and Redcar were cancelled. Residents are being offered £1,000 and new appliances to take part.

The HSC noted that the trial is taking place in one of Scotland’s most deprived communities, adding that Buckhaven residents have “not been given any information about the likely cost of continuing to heat their houses with hydrogen after the trial is finished.”

HSC has determined hydrogen heating would increase consumer costs by 86% compared to current systems.

The group added, “Analysts project green hydrogen prices will remain stubbornly high for decades, while electric heat pumps have the potential to halve UK heating bills,” according to Third Generation Environmentalism data.

It also takes three to five-and-a-half times more renewable electricity to heat homes with hydrogen when compared with heat pumps, HSC highlighted, while its higher risk of accident should be considered.

Major expert bodies, including the UK Climate Change Committee, National Infrastructure Commission, and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), all say hydrogen has no role in home heating.

“We recommend the Scottish government removes support for the Fife trial to align with the overwhelming evidence against the use of hydrogen for heating, and instead directs support towards clean, efficient electric technologies like heat pumps and heat networks, as recommended by expert bodies,” HSC added.

“Green hydrogen has an important role to play in the energy transition, but it must be reserved for industrial sectors that can’t be electrified.”

“Hydrogen has no place in the home. With all evidence already clear on hydrogen heating, the Fife trial represents a costly misuse of public funds.”

Officially opened in February, the H100 Fife project is viewed as a key test of how hydrogen could fit into existing gas networks and support wider decarbonisation goals.

SGN CEO Simon Kilonback said the project could act as a catalyst for regional decarbonisation, providing key evidence to support the wider hydrogen economy, including production, storage, and operations.