Jane Gaston, Protos Development Director at Peel NRE gives her view on the role of hydrogen in the North West as the UK comes together to celebrate Hydrogen Week.
As one of the founding members of the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) we’ve taken an active role in promoting hydrogen in the North West. Whether it’s our plans for the UK’s first plastic-to-hydrogen facility or the Cheshire Green Hydrogen project with Progressive Energy, we’re at the heart of plans to create a regional hydrogen economy.
The recent Mission Zero review by Chris Skidmore MP outlined the vital role hydrogen will play in reaching net zero carbon emissions in the UK and the potential for us to be global leaders, reaping significant economic benefits.
That’s why we’re supporting the UK’s first Hydrogen Week (13th-19th Feb 2023). An initiative that’s been spearheaded by the NWHA and is bringing together businesses, schools and community groups to celebrate and raise awareness of the vital role that hydrogen will play in our future energy mix.
This week I had the pleasure of chairing a panel at a major one-day conference in Liverpool, ‘Delivering the Hydrogen Economy’. Organised by the NWHA it showcased the huge progress that the region has made towards establishing the UK’s first hydrogen economy, bringing together over 250 local, regional and national stakeholders. The discussions focused on everything across the full chain of production, distribution, transport, storage and fuel switching. The panel I chaired was looking at future innovations, including using hydrogen to manufacture glass and the potential synergies between hydrogen and nuclear.
What came across loud and clear is that the North West has already taken significant strides towards delivering on hydrogen and creating a blueprint for the rest of the UK. With projects to switch industry to hydrogen and capture carbon as part of HyNet North West or Carlton Power’s plans to create green hydrogen facilities, the region is taking action now. It was amazing to see everyone come together to celebrate what we’ve achieved and the world leading innovation that will bring hydrogen into the mainstream. We need to continue this momentum, deliver at pace and ensure we capitalise on the huge opportunity hydrogen presents for the North West and the UK as a whole.
Peel NRE is part of family-run regeneration business Peel L&P.
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