The new departments come in the form of Energy Security and Net Zero; Science, Innovation, and Technology; Business and Trade; and Culture, Media, and Sport.

Former BEIS Secretary, Grant Shapps now assumes the role of Secretary for Energy Security and Net Zero under the reshuffle, heading up the task of “securing long-term energy supply, bringing down energy bills and halving inflation,” the Government has said.

Michelle Donelan, who served a two-day stint as Education Secretary under Boris Johnson ahead of his announced resignation, will head up the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, while Kemi Badenoch, previously the Secretary for Women and Equalities will now oversee Business and Trade.

Although further appointments to the top roles in the PM’s top team are yet to be announced, players across the hydrogen and renewable energy industries have been reacting to the move from the Government.

Industry reaction

Taking to LinkedIn, Clare Jackson, CEO of Hydrogen UK, posted, “On many levels this makes sense, BEIS was a huge department, and this new change feels much more manageable. Must make sure that the economic opportunities presented by Net Zero aren’t lost.”

Jackson added, “Hydrogen has a lot to offer across the three new departments and Hydrogen UK looks forward to working closely with Ministers and officials to ensure that we make the UK one of the best places in the world to develop and deploy hydrogen solutions!”

Richard Lum, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Victory Hill Capital Partners, said the new department is an opportunity for the UK to reset its thinking and back the technologies and industries needed to future proof its economy.

“The last year has shown how vulnerable the UK economy is to energy shocks, an issue that is set to become more complex as we transition away from fossil fuels,” Lum said. “Ministers however will need to be careful that UK energy policy and its industrial policy stay joined up to ensure decarbonisation continues to play a central role.”

He added that Ministers need to maintain a “sense of ownership” between the different briefs, as it is not “sufficient to only hold energy production to the objectives of Net Zero but also drive wider industrial transformations if we are meet our climate goals.”

Chris Jackson, CEO of Protium, said the move, combined with a recent review of the UK’s Net Zero Review, was a positive development, but commented, “However, we need to wait to see what the focus will be and if the new Department will deliver the policies, incentives and certainty for investment in renewables and other clean energy sources, such as green hydrogen, that we are seeing in other major economies in the US and also the EU.”

Read more: UK Net Zero Review: UK could be global leader in hydrogen but risks losing out

Just last week (February 1) the European Commission announced plans to offer a “fixed premium” per kg of green hydrogen to subsidise domestic EU production over a 10-year period.

Read more: European Commission plans to subsidise green hydrogen production

The Protium CEO added, “So my ask of government is to not waste this opportunity – action is needed now and there is no time to delay in the Net Zero race.”

Celia Greaves, CEO of the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association (UK HFCA) seemed hopeful that hydrogen would come as a focus for the new departments. “Hydrogen is key to delivering both energy resilience and Net Zero for the UK, and so we expect it to be a key theme for the new department,” she said.

“It is important for the Government to ensure that the restructure does not diminish the link between clean growth, energy resilience and net zero; these must remain closely connected,” Greaves added. “The UK HFCA sees hydrogen as a fundamental pillar to all three departments.”

In recent years, BEIS had announced numerous funding programmes for hydrogen projects in the UK. The same day as the restructure it announced £113m to go towards investing in hydrogen and all-electric flight technologies.

April last year (2022), of course, saw the Department unveil an updated energy strategy, doubling its target for low-carbon hydrogen production from 5GW to 10GW by 2030.

Read more: UK Government unveils new energy strategy doubling low-carbon hydrogen production to 10GW by 2030

However, over the past 12 months it received multiple calls from industry and trade associations to step its support for hydrogen. A report by the UK Hydrogen Policy Commission (HPC) in December (2022) warned that the UK’s hydrogen ambitions were lagging behind other nations.

Read more: Report calls UK’s hydrogen ambitions into question

The report by cross-party parliamentarians, local leaders, trade union representatives and academics, said the plans fail to offer a “clear, stable and attractive policy and political environment.”

Hydrogen UK and the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) in 2022 both called on the Government to accelerate its design and publishing of a hydrogen storage business model.