The Hydrogen Storage: Delivery on the UK’s Energy Needs report has recommended that a long-term regulated business model for large-scale storage should be designed by no later than 2025.
Acknowledging the UK Government’s recent Energy Security Strategy, which highlighted the role hydrogen is set to play in the UK’s energy mix, having increased domestic production targets to 10GW by 2030, Hydrogen UK stressed that building the required hydrogen storage infrastructure in tandem with production capacity is “key” to ensuring that hydrogen can deliver low-carbon affordable energy and economic growth.
Estimating that the sector could require 3.4TWh of large-scale hydrogen storage by 2030, increasing to 9.8TWh by 2035, the report said that Government support is needed to achieve the requirements.
“The UK has one of the highest dependencies on natural gas in Europe and is vulnerable to the volatility of the global energy market, especially following the geopolitical unrest of 2022,” said Clare Jackson, CEO of Hydrogen UK. “This is intensified by low natural gas storage capacity.”
Jackson added, “This report highlights the importance of policy and investment in hydrogen infrastructure to ensure the UK is on track to meet both its Net Zero targets and energy security needs.”
Hydrogen UK has recommended that UK Government:
Designs a long-term regulated business model for large-scale storage no later than 2025.
Launches interim measures as soon as possible to unlock final investment decisions before the finalisation of the business model, improving investor confidence, providing DEVEX and CAPEX support, as well as a short-term business model.
Creates a strategic planning body to facilitate coordination between production, network, and storage infrastructure projects, ensuring a level playing field for UK businesses.
August (2022) saw industry group, the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) urge the Government to accelerate its plans for hydrogen storage business models.
Read more: Calls for greater focus on large-scale hydrogen storage in the UK
The group said the target to deliver the business models by 2025 came too late, and called for the deadline to be brought forward to at least 2023 to ensure sufficient investments to be made.
In September (2022), the Government made a call for proposals to design business models for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, which closed on November 22, 2022.
Read more: UK Government open for consultation hydrogen transport and storage business models
Commenting on the new Hydrogen UK report, Dan Sadler, Vice-President for UK Low-Carbon Solutions at Equinor said, “If the UK is to establish a world leading hydrogen economy which combines blue and green hydrogen production and a growing variety of off-takers, one thing is certain – hydrogen storage is an essential component for success. To that end, the UK should look to incentivise a minimum ‘low-regrets’ level of hydrogen storage in the 2020s.”
A Successful Ecosystem for Green Hydrogen – Iceland
It is becoming ever clearer that the entire green hydrogen ecosystem requires alignment. Hydrogen’s potential, performance, and safety are proven. Green hydrogen is widely accepted as a core pathway to Net Zero, yet the key levers in the transition are not yet in-sync.
For these reasons, H2 View is launching An Ecosystem for Green Hydrogen, a two and a half day summit in Reykjavík, Iceland on February 28 to March 2, 2023, devoted to thought leadership, insights, and actionable takeaways for the green hydrogen ecosystem.
In a world full of distractions and technical overload, we need inspiring places to refresh our minds and bodies. The power of Iceland lies in its nature, culture, and energy. These elements serve as the perfect backdrop for a memorable and effective event at the world renowned Harpa Centre.
The summit promises to tackle all sides of the energy ecosystem, from wind and solar power requirements, through to additionality, water sustainability, electrolyser technologies, and the investment and policy climate. The 2.5 day event is split over six sessions, delegates will hear from speakers representing all strands of the hydrogen value chain in a bid to unravel key issues in the industry, and where it can make some headway.
You can find more information at h2-viewevents.com.