These Project Union transmission pipelines in St Fergus-Teesside, the north west, and on the east coast have secured £67m, £40m, and £57m, respectively.

Each initiative is expected to form over 50% of the planned 1,500-mile UK hydrogen backbone.

Engineering consultancy WSP will likely lead the FEED phase, after it was appointed design integrator for Project Union in July.

“This is a hugely significant moment for Britain’s hydrogen journey,” claimed Ian Radley, Chief Commercial Officer at National Gas.

“With Ofgem’s support, we’re moving from discussion to delivery – taking significant strides towards building Britain’s core hydrogen network.

“Hydrogen will sit alongside electrification as a vital part of a cleaner, more resilient energy system – and this funding shows that the future is becoming a reality.”

National Gas Transmission (NGT) aims to repurpose parts of the National Transmission System (NTS) and construct new infrastructure.

With funding secured, the first phase of the project will focus on the UK’s east coast and connect Track 1 hydrogen clusters in Humber and Teesside. Future phases will expand the network across the country.

In its project proposal, which was submitted last year, NGT highlighted that Project Union could enable up to 11.6GW of planned hydrogen production and 28.3TWh per year of industrial and power demand.