It hoped the Government commitment will accelerate the deployment of hydrogen bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) technology, which is said to permanently remove waste from the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide during the growth of sustainable biomass and organic content.

The funding comes as part of a £102m ($126m) funding package, seeing £77m ($95m) committed to support nuclear fuel production and next generation nuclear reactors.

Read more: UK approves Sizewell C nuclear plant

Originally announced in January (2022), the BECCS funding deepens the UK’s commitment to accelerate the hydrogen adoption by providing an avenue to produce the clean energy carrier in large quantities.

Read more: UK government launches new £5m scheme to support innovative waste-to-hydrogen technology

BECCS has the potential to go beyond Net Zero and achieve carbon negative, by removing greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. Lord Callanan, Energy Minister, claimed the technology “will be crucial to achieving our climate goals.”

The UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) previously announced that 22 organisations would receive up to £250,000 in funding as part of the BECCS Programme.

Read more: UK Government awards funding to 22 organisations to support waste-to-hydrogen technology

Upping the heat

The Government also stated it will look to improve boiler efficiency to cut carbon emissions on the way to phasing out new and replacement natural-gas-only boilers from 2025, which the Government is looking to receive consultation on mandating to be hydrogen-ready from 2026.

Jane Toogood, UK Hydrogen Champion, said “It’s good to see the next stage of implementation of the Hydrogen Strategy, particularly the consultation on the proposal to make new gas boilers hydrogen-ready.”

Calling for the views of consumers, installers, manufacturers, and wider industry the Government’s consultation is open until March, 21, 2023.

The opening on the consultation follows on from calls made by the Institution of Gas Engineers & Managers (IGEM) in July (2022), urging the Government to mandate hydrogen-ready boilers immediately.

Read more: Calls for UK to mandate hydrogen-ready boilers in wake of report

It came after a report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) said the UK Government’s policies fail in the delivery if programmes towards meeting national climate goals.