Development of a green hydrogen industry could generate £320bn for the UK economy and sustain up to 120,000 jobs by 2050 according to a new report released by the Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.
The Offshore Wind and Hydrogen: Solving the Integration Challenge Report examines the potential for hydrogen to play a key role in providing the flexibility, and short and long-term energy balancing, required for integrating high percentages of offshore wind into the UK energy system and achieving our net-zero climate change targets.
The report highlights that the UK has the right level of offshore wind capacity potential, and a strong industrial base, combined with academic research, to develop a sustainable, low-cost green hydrogen industry, one that produces hydrogen without CO2 emissions from electrolysis of water. By 2050, green hydrogen from UK offshore wind can be cheaper than blue hydrogen.
To capitalise fully on this opportunity, the report calls for government intervention now and a new national strategy to support the creation of supply and demand in the new industry. This includes an integrated approach to deliver accelerated deployment, supported by appropriate regulation and policy, targeted research and development, and the infrastructure to carry out full-scale demonstration and validation of new products and services.
