With the climate emergency at our door and high energy bills squeezing households and businesses, the need to end our reliance on fossil fuels has never been more urgent.
It is vital that we strike a strong and balanced energy supply mix that no longer leaves us at the mercy of volatile wholesale gas prices. Green hydrogen, produced from renewable energy and water, offers a major part of the solution to the problems we face by helping reduce CO2 emissions and improving energy security.
As the UK’ first official Hydrogen Week demonstrates the sector is going from strength to strength, following a flurry of manufacturing hub announcements. At Lhyfe, we believe the North East with its long history of technical innovation has extraordinary potential to be at the forefront of the green industrial revolution.
Hydrogen home heating trials such as those by HyDeploy in Winlaton and Northern Gas Networks at Low Thornley underline an appetite to get things done. Our Newcastle-based team is actively exploring potential production sites. We are also working with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s new steering group to accelerate rollout across the region.
Industries such as steel, glass, cement, and even paper production all have to decarbonise and could be helped by large-scale green hydrogen sites. Transport and logistics also feed into the energy transformation. There is significant economic potential for the North East from this transition. We can create more jobs and develop new markets based on green technology.
Green hydrogen, of course, requires green electricity. While we can source this from grid with appropriate certificates of origin, we are exposed to slow and expensive processes as well as ongoing system charges. Offshore windfarms offer a great future, large-scale, solution, but take years to develop.
In the meantime, greater connection with onshore turbines will aid green hydrogen development in areas where the production can be utilised. Some strategic regional planning would allow renewable electricity and green hydrogen projects to co-exist and will ensure genuine value is delivered to local communities.
The upcoming North East devolution deal, with the promise of more funding and a strategic approach to planning, offers an opportunity to accelerate the shift to net zero. A joined-up approach towards the deployment of renewables, coupled with green hydrogen production can advance real and cost-effective regional decarbonisation solutions.
With fresh powers over skills, transport and housing the North East could lead the way in green technology, supercharging the UK’s climate protection and energy security goals.
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