October 26 the UK’s Energy Act has received Royal Ascent with a hydrogen industry funding mechanism attached.
Slated by the government to unlock £100bn ($121bn) of private investments in energy infrastructure, scale up jobs and support Net Zero, the Act has finally completed its long journey to receive (procedural) approval
For the hydrogen industry, it means a mechanism for funding government-backed developments has been passed – the long debated ‘hydrogen levy.’
The Act will lay the foundations for the UK’s future hydrogen economy, by creating the provisions for a Hydrogen Production Business Model and Hydrogen Transport and Storage Business Models.
The production business model is aimed at incentivising investments in low-carbon hydrogen production and use to meet the government’s 10GW capacity target by 2030, with the transport and storage models hoped to develop infrastructure connecting production and demand.