Call For Delivering A Network As Shell Drops Hydrogen Bombshell

• Browse By Section
• News
• Call For Delivering A Network As Shell Drops Hydrogen Bombshell

Mike Foster, CEO of the not-for-profit trade body Energy and Utilities Alliance has called on the government to get on with delivering a ‘world-leading hydrogen economy’ as news comes that Shell has closed all of its hydrogen filling stations.

Foster’s call follows that of FTSE 250 boss Liam Condon of Johnson Matthey, who told the Financial Times that the UK has fallen behind others in the hydrogen energy race despite a Conservative Party commitment to hydrogen made in 2019.

 “The UK government needs to stop dithering and get a grip otherwise it will lose yet more of our industrial base as investors will go elsewhere. It’s a time old problem, we have the good ideas, we develop them ready to go and Whitehall bureaucracy holds up progress, so investment goes overseas instead.”

– Mike Foster 

CEO, Energy and Utilities Alliance

British bureaucracy

“We have great British businesses ready to power forward with a hydrogen future; we have great British trade unions fully backing them; a united British industrial sector poised to be world leaders - and a British bureaucracy determined to stop it.”

Foster was speaking in favour of a hydrogen network to fuel domestic heating in particular. However, a hydrogen network is holistic – vans and lorries could be fuelled by the zero carbon gas and energy intensive users such as glass manufacturers can burn it in furnaces for example. Foster added: “Hydrogen suppliers need the confidence to invest by knowing domestic demand will be there. The gas networks want to end fossil fuels and deliver hydrogen to homes instead. The gas boiler manufacturers want to convert appliances to run on hydrogen. All united to meet our climate obligations. Yet we still wait on Whitehall bureaucrats to give the green light.

“Having a hydrogen-ready boiler means the consumer doesn’t have to shell out £ tens of thousands to go green, they can wait for the gas to be switched to hydrogen instead. No more ripping boilers off walls or radiators replaced, just a simple in-home conversion.”

Picture: The UK needs a comprehensive hydrogen network says the Energy and Utilities Alliance.

Article written by Cathryn Ellis
10th November 2022

Share

Related Articles