Building off years of cooperation on carbon capture and storage (CCS) Norway and the UK have announced a strengthened partnership to cooperate more closely on hydrogen.
Under a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the countries have agreed to regularly exchange knowledge and experience related to low-carbon hydrogen production, transport, and storage, as well as developing standards and certification.
Last month (February 9), the UK Government outlined plans for a new globally recognised low-carbon hydrogen certification scheme.
Read more: UK Government outlines plans for low-carbon hydrogen certification scheme
The two countries have had an MoU on CCS since 2018, and last year (2022) Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed a joint declaration for strategic cooperation on the green transition.
“We have had a close cooperation with Great Britain for many years on carbon capture and storage, and I’m pleased that we are now strengthening our partnership to also include hydrogen,” said Terje Aasland, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy. “Hydrogen will likely play an important role in cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and it’s important to share and learn from each other.”
Norway and Germany in January (2023) agreed to strengthen their partnership on hydrogen with intentions of establishing a large-scale pipeline between the two countries.
Read more: Germany and Norway strengthen hydrogen ties, plans for large-scale hydrogen pipeline
The countries confirmed intent to ensure large-scale supply of hydrogen with the necessary infrastructure from Norway to Germany by 2030, with plans to explore the technical and economic feasibility of required solutions, including a large-scale hydrogen pipeline.
The new MoU between the UK and Norway comes just days after the US and UK reaffirmed hydrogen for Net Zero during strategic energy discussions between US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and UK Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps.
Read more: US and UK reaffirm hydrogen in clean energy drive
The UK Government has come under fire in the last year, with many calling for more to be done to support the hydrogen industry. Concerns over strategy and business cases have been echoed on multiple occasions.
However, 2023 saw a shake-up of Government Departments, seeing the former Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) broken up into the departments of Energy Security and Net Zero; Science, Innovation, and Technology; Business and Trade; and Culture, Media, and Sport.
Read more: Industry reacts to UK Government department shake-up
Many across the hydrogen industry viewed the shakeup as wholly positive, while stressing the need for focus remained.