The UK Parliament’s Commons Science and Technology Committee says in a new report hydrogen won’t be a panacea for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 and government policy should reflect that, Kallanish reports. 

According to the committee, hydrogen will play a “limited rather than universal” role in decarbonising the UK economy. It’s likely to be best suited to applications or places which are hard to electrify such as some parts of the rail network; uses that don’t require the creation of an extensive refuelling network such as local bus services operating out of a fixed number of depots; and users who are adjacent to, or accessible to, places where hydrogen is produced such as industrial clusters, the committee explains.

The report adds that other “important potential uses” include as a means of energy storage and a source of power for energy intensive industries such as steel, glass, and mineral production.

“We disagree with the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation that the government should mandate new domestic boilers to be hydrogen-ready from 2025,” the members of parliament (MPs) say, noting the “significant investment” in networks and infrastructure needed across the country.

“Essential questions remain to be answered as to how in future large quantities of hydrogen can be produced, distributed, and used in ways that are compatible with Net Zero and cost efficiency,” the report adds. “It would be unwise to assume that hydrogen can make a very large contribution to reducing UK greenhouse gas emissions in the short- to medium-term.”

The MPs argue that blue hydrogen “cannot be relied on” as a high-volume contribution to decarbonisation until carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCSU) technology is deployed at large scale in an economical manner. They also say that future mass production of green hydrogen will require renewable-to-hydrogen capacity, since the grid is already dealing with unprecedented demand for renewable power as electricity consumption rises in both domestic and industrial settings.

“In our view, multiple changes will be needed to the way we obtain, use, and store energy if we are to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Hydrogen will have its place in this portfolio. But we do not believe that it will be the panacea to our problems that might sometimes be inferred from the hopes placed on it,” the report concludes.

The committee suggests that the government must have a clear view of hydrogen’s practical deployment and now turn the Hydrogen Strategy into a set of operational decisions.

The report was published on 19 December and can be fully accessed here.