Engineering leaders urge UK to scale-up hydrogen production

Abstract

The UK must quickly scale up production of low-carbon hydrogen as it will play a "critical role" in a net-zero energy system, according to the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC). The NEPC report advocates a region-specific approach to developing local hydrogen economies across the UK. A report from the 42 professional engineering organisations including the IET that constitute the NEPC says the UK needs to act swiftly to avoid falling behind international competitors. It also highlights the risks associated with rapid scale-up of low-carbon hydrogen production, such as emissions from fossil fuel extraction and dependencies on other technologies including carbon capture and storage, renewable electricity and electrolysers.