Hydrogen Power: Will The Government's Strategy Help Us Get To Net-Zero Carbon?

The government plans to provide the UK with low-carbon energy derived from hydrogen. But will it help really us reach our emissions targets?

- Sara Rigby

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WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT’S PLAN?

The main aim of the UK Hydrogen Strategy is to be able to produce five gigawatts (five billion joules per second) of low-carbon power from hydrogen by 2030 – equivalent to the amount of gas used by three million UK households.

The hydrogen could be used in various ways. Perhaps the easiest will be as a replacement for natural gas derived from fossil fuels. Natural gas, a mix of methane and ethane, is used for heating, cooking and generating electricity. Hydrogen can be burned in the same way and produces only water (no CO2), but you need roughly three times as much to produce the same amount of energy.

Hydrogen can also be used in fuel cells, where chemical energy is turned directly into electrical energy, much like a battery. These cells can be used instead of combustion engines in vehicles or instead of petrol or diesel generators.

WHERE WILL THE HYDROGEN COME FROM?

The gas can come from two sources, known as ‘green’ and ‘blue’ hydrogen. “Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water into its constituent parts, hydrogen and oxygen, using electricity from renewable sources such as wind or solar power,” says Dr Eike Thaysen, experimental geosciences technical research assistant at the University of Edinburgh. “Blue hydrogen is produced by the reaction of steam with methane.”