During the UK’s first official Hydrogen Week, Stuart Broadley, CEO of the EIC said the UK is among the world’s top countries in hydrogen with a robust supply chain active in manufacturing, development and more, however added that more needs to be done to build a long-standing, healthy hydrogen supply chain.

A review of the UK’s Net Zero strategy, released in January (2022), said that hydrogen will play a “vital role” in the UK’s future energy mix, presenting a significant economic opportunity, but added, the country must move quickly to implement policy and regulation or risk losing out.

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

The EICDataStream suggested that as of October 2022, the UK had 52 hydrogen production projects in planning or development, worth over $13.7bn.

Broadley said the hydrogen industry needs supply demand equilibrium to thrive and contribute to national and global environmental commitments. He added, “Our research and industry conversations show that the global supply of hydrogen could exceed demand. If this trend continues, there is a risk that producers will have no buyers, risking a massive drop in hydrogen prices and long-term disruptions to the supply chain.”

The CEO of the “energy agnostic” trade association stressed the need to create demand opportunities at industrial and retail levels, proposing that consumers should be given the choice for hydrogen-powered vehicles by opening hydrogen refuelling stations in the UK.

Last year (2022), three UK hydrogen refuelling stations in Cobham, Gatwick, and Swindon, operated by Shell, having been set up with ITM Power’s fuelling business, Motive Fuels had closed.

Read more: Shell opens up on UK hydrogen refuelling station closures in H2 View webinar

Speaking on a H2 View webinar last December, Paul Bogers, Vice-President of Hydrogen at Shell told viewers that operational challenges and lack of use forced the closures.

Rebecca Groundwater, Head of External Affairs at the EIC, said in order to reach the UK Government’s targeted 10GW of domestic low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, the UK needs to decide on the Track 2 industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) clusters and draw solid plans to achieve its targets.

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

“To encourage businesses and investors to invest in hydrogen projects, we need a clear plan with deadlines,” said Groundwater. “We also need to classify hydrogen internal combustion engine as a zero-emission powertrain (as the EU and other regions are doing) and support for hydrogen refuelling stations infrastructure to drive private investment.”

Broadley added, “We also need to secure funding to support hydrogen research and development efforts and the deployment of hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure. By prioritising the development of UK content in hydrogen projects, the government can support the growth of local businesses, create jobs, build skills, and ensure that the UK is at the forefront of this rapidly evolving industry.”

The UK Government’s hydrogen ambitions were called in question by the UK Policy Commission (HPC), which suggested they were lagging behind other nations and fail to offer a “clear, stable, and attractive policy and political environment.”

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

In its report, the HPC said recent political instability, delays to the proposed Energy Bill, and worsening economic outlook had dealt a “hammer blow” to UK industry confidence.

However, just this month (February 2023), UK PM Rishi Sunak announced a restructuring of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), seeing it split up into new departments.

Read more: Industry reacts to UK Government department shake-up

These are Energy Security and Net Zero; Science, Innovation, and Technology; Business and Trade; and Culture, Media, and Sport.

The following day, the new Department of Energy Security and Net Zero outlined plans for a globally recognised low-carbon hydrogen certification scheme to promote cross-border trade whilst stimulating growth and jobs in green hydrogen.

Read more: UK Government outlines plans for low-carbon hydrogen certification scheme