In doing so, the Scottish Government has committed £100m ($123m) in funding for renewable hydrogen projects, through the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, launched in June 2022, and the Green Hydrogen Fund, opening in 2023.
The 5GW goal translates to 17.TWh and over 450,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year, which the Government estimates is equivalent to 15% of Scotland’s total 161TWh energy demand per annum.
Coming in line with the Net Zero Technology Centre’s (NZTC) announcement earlier today that it was kicking off a project to develop a hydrogen export route from Scotland to the Netherlands utilising liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC), the Government in its plan noted the opportunity for export from the nation, which it has predicted could contribute between £5bn and £25bn a year by 2025, depending on scale of exports.
Read more: Scotland to Rotterdam: Plans for LOHC ‘Hydrogen Highway’ announced
“Hydrogen produced in Scotland could play a significant role in supplying these growing, local and overseas markets,” the Plan read. “Our 5GW by 2030 renewable and low-carbon hydrogen ambition can be translated as approximately 0.45 million tonnes of hydrogen produced annually for both domestic and international use.”
Under its 2021 draft Onshore Wind Policy Statement the Government said it aspired to install 8-12GW of onshore and island wind capacity by 2030. In the new Action Plan it has said a “significant portion” of this may not be connected to grid so hydrogen production could be a “very attractive enabler.”
As part of its plan to develop Scotland’s hydrogen sector, the Scottish Government has said it will: invest in early projects, build relationships, and mobilise investment. Furthermore, in a bid to develop hydrogen supply chains it has said it will: encourage cross-sectoral relationships, boost hydrogen hub location awareness, and introduce supportive policy.
Central UK Government in April (2022) released plans to raise domestic low-carbon hydrogen production capacity targets from 5GW to 10GW by 2030.
“Hydrogen could present Scotland’s greatest industrial opportunity since oil and gas was discovered in the North Sea,” said Michael Matheson, Scottish Net Zero & Energy Secretary. “The technology has tremendous potential to help deliver a just transition for our energy sector, realising huge economic benefits while supporting our Net Zero transformation.”
Matheson added, “Our Hydrogen Action Plan reaffirms the Scottish Government’s clear commitment to helping our hydrogen sector grow and prosper. We are open to the world and actively collaborating with international partners in order to realise the benefits of hydrogen.”
You can read the entire Hydrogen Action Plan here.