Green Hydrogen and its Place in the UK’s Renewable Energy Sector
GA Energy, GA Solicitors’ specialist renewable energy team, is advising clients on the development of green hydrogen, but what is it, what can it be used for and are there any challenges to using it?
The UK Government has laid out an ambitious plan to incorporate hydrogen as a key component of its strategy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, with green hydrogen set to play a vital role. This plan includes the development of hydrogen production capacity and the integration of hydrogen into various sectors such as transportation, industry, power generation and storage, and heating.
What is Green Hydrogen?
Green hydrogen is produced by splitting water by electrolysis using electricity from renewable sources. Splitting the water produces hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen can be used for power and the oxygen can be released into the atmosphere with no negative impact.
The Government’s Hydrogen Strategy
The UK Government’s hydrogen strategy, outlined in the “UK Hydrogen Strategy” document published in August 2021 and updated in December 2023, sets out the government’s aims to produce 10 gigawatts (GW) of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with a long-term vision of expanding this capacity further to meet the net-zero goal by 2050. The government aims to do this through utilising a mix of:
- Blue hydrogen – is produced by splitting natural gas into hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen is used for power and the carbon dioxide, a harmful greenhouse gas, is captured and stored to mitigate the environmental impacts
- Green hydrogen – is the cleanest option as it produces hydrogen from renewable energy sources and does not produce any harmful greenhouse gases.
When referring to their plans to use hydrogen, the government refers to blue hydrogen as “low carbon hydrogen” and green hydrogen as “zero carbon hydrogen” or “electrolytic hydrogen”.
Which Sectors Will Benefit Most from Green Hydrogen?
The government’s hydrogen strategy lists four main sectors in which the use of hydrogen will play a pivotal role in the coming years. These sectors are:
- Industry;
- Transport (in particular in relation to heavy-duty vehicles, buses, and potentially in aviation and shipping);
- Power generation and storage; and
- Heating (both residential and commercial heating)
The strategy states that as the deployment of renewables scales up, power generation will become more decentralised, variable and intermittent as we become increasingly dependent on wind and solar. Peaks in demand will not always tie in with peaks in energy production. To combat this, the government believes energy storage and demand-side response will be required. This is where they see green hydrogen playing an important role.
The government believes the excess electricity created by renewable energy when demand is low can be utilised to produce green hydrogen, which is then stored. This stored hydrogen can then be used to balance out demands in energy, and it can also be used across other sectors which currently rely heavily on fossil fuels, such as transport or industry.
GA Energy is advising clients on co-locating hydrogen production with solar energy generation and storage sites, as well as the possible distribution and use of green hydrogen, including for use in transport at fuel stations on site and for use in quality fertilisers.
What Are The Challenges
Whilst the government’s plans are ambitious and we are seeing a clear interest from our energy clients in green hydrogen, there are some challenges to the production and use of hydrogen which will need to be addressed, including:
- Electrolysers needed for production are expensive;
- Hydrogen is prone to leakage; and
- Hydrogen is a highly volatile and flammable element.
The above can make hydrogen difficult and expensive to produce, store and transport. This means there will need to be more investment in research and the development of technology and infrastructure, as well as introducing supportive policies to encourage private sector investment and development. Putting adequate infrastructure in place will take time, and if the government wishes to hit their targets, action needs to be taken sooner rather than later.
Conclusion
There is a real interest in low-carbon hydrogen production and the role green hydrogen can have in achieving the UK’s net zero targets. However, there are challenges that need to be considered and where possible addressed before green hydrogen can more widely be integrated into the various sectors identified for its use. The government will need to consider carefully how they can support the green energy sector in the development of green hydrogen production and there will no doubt be more announcements which will need to be considered by the energy sector on this.
In the meantime, we continue to support those of our clients looking into test cases and studies at this stage and we will be keeping a keen watch on further advances and news.
GA Energy works with renewable energy developers across the UK on a range of technologies, including solar, wind, anaerobic digestion, hydropower, battery storage and energy from waste. If you are a renewable energy developer, investor or asset manager who needs specialist legal advice, contact GA Energy by calling 01225 618114.
You can read Helen’s previous article about how businesses can become more sustainable here.
All content on this website (inclusive of guides, blogs and imagery) is strictly copyrighted by Gill Akaster LLP, trading as GA Solicitors. It is not to be used by any third party without prior contact and permission. Any requests for content should be sent to katy.mckenna@GAsolicitors.com.