Members of several trade bodies that include RenewableUK and the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association have called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to lay the foundations for a UK-wide hydrogen strategy.
As part of a cross-industry group, the associations said that developing a “clear, strategic plan” will unlock “significant” private funding in hydrogen technologies and manufacturing across the country, “driving growth” and generating hundreds of thousands of green jobs.
The collective, whose members employ around 100,000 people between them and represent a value of £100bn in the UK, said it stands ready to invest up to £1.5bn (€1.6bn) in hydrogen projects and create thousands of jobs across the country.
The other associations forming the cross-industry group are the Midlands Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Network, the British Hydropower Association, HyCymru (Wales Hydrogen Trade Association) and Hydrogen East.
The collective believes the UK has the potential to become a “global leader” in renewable and low-carbon hydrogen technology, but it must “move fast” to realise this opportunity and achieve the maximum economic benefit.
Recently the European Commission announced a multi-billion-euro green recovery plan that includes hydrogen, while Germany and Canada have also introduced large-scale fiscal support for kick-starting their hydrogen economies.
The campaign group stated: “A UK-wide hydrogen economy will create and sustain hundreds of thousands of high-skilled, green jobs, in all parts of the country and in alignment with the Government’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda.”
The collective said such an economy will also drive progress to net zero, while improving air quality in towns and cities, secure private investment into the UK, and unlock export opportunities for products and skills, while increase the UK’s energy security by making fuller use of its natural resources.