Climate groups warn blue hydrogen is ‘Trojan Horse’ for fossil fuel

Climate groups have warned that blue hydrogen is being used as a “Trojan Horse” to keep the UK “hooked” on fossil fuels in a letter to business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng.

The signatories to the letter, which include Greenpeace, WWF and E3G, noted that three quarters of public investment in hydrogen through the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy has been directed towards so-called blue hydrogen produced by reforming methane and capturing the carbon dioxide emissions.

“Zero emissions, green hydrogen produced from renewable energy is likely to remain a premium commodity over the coming decades,” the letter stated. “It should therefore be deployed where it adds the greatest value for climate, jobs, and a strong economic recovery.

“Used wisely, green hydrogen can support the decarbonisation of industrial hubs across the UK, helping tackle some of the greatest climate challenges for sectors where currently there are no readily available pathways to zero emissions.”

By contrast, the letter said blue hydrogen is not zero emissions and “risks a lock-in of high carbon infrastructure and jobs.”

It said: “Major companies for whom action on climate change is a near-existential threat are seeking to make blue hydrogen a fuel of choice. Government needs to send a strong signal that the UK’s competitive future lies in a focus on green, as is the clear preference internationally.

“We strongly encourage the government to focus public support and priorities on green hydrogen, which is the most sustainable solution in the long run; avoiding the risks associated with a ‘twin track’ approach of both green and blue.”

The letter said the government’s strategy must help to distinguish where hydrogen “does and does not present the optimal pathway for decarbonisation. For instance, where alternative solutions are already readily available for roll-out, are more efficient and cost-effective, existing strategies for efficiency and electrification should not be delayed.”

It gave heating as an example, stating that blue hydrogen “cannot be used at scale across the UK without undermining carbon budgets,” whilst green hydrogen is “estimated to require around 30 times more offshore wind farm capacity than currently available to produce enough hydrogen to replace all gas boilers”.

“We therefore urge the government to avoid a nationwide roll-out of hydrogen-ready boilers, or ‘blending’ of fossil gas and hydrogen into national networks,” the letter added. “We are concerned that these ideas are being promoted by the fossil fuel industry to lock the UK into fossil fuel infrastructure and fossil fuel supply and that there is an attempt underway to capture the UK government behind a fossil-based hydrogen future, using blending and hydrogen ready boilers as a Trojan Horse.”

Juliet Phillips, senior policy adviser at E3G, said: “Hope in hydrogen must not be clouded by hype, particularly when it comes to heating our homes. The government must not block near-term progress on cheaper, more effective and readily available solutions of energy efficiency, heat pumps and renewable heat networks.”

Greenpeace UK policy director Doug Parr said: “Hydrogen produced from renewables is the next big international clean technology which will ultimately get the world off fossil fuels. It’s therefore worrying that the UK government instead seems more intent on producing hydrogen from gas coupled with the unproven technology of carbon capture and storage.

“Carbon capture isn’t zero carbon and at scale has systematically failed after decades of trying. Any strategy that relies on it risks, at best, being poor value for money, and at worst ending up dead in the water.”

Speaking at Utility Week’s Future of Heat conference earlier this week, Cambridge City Council environmental quality and growth manager Jo Dicks raised concerns over a “headlong rush” to air-source heat pumps, saying there are “lots of problems” with the technology, particularly within urban areas.

The government has set a target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028 as part of its ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution.

In April, Shell signed an agreement to develop a carbon capture and storage and hydrogen project in Scotland, whilst SSE and Equinor announced plans for a “world first” blue hydrogen power plant in the Humber region.