Government urged to bring forward decision on hydrogen

Academics, business leaders and consumer groups have urged the government to take a decision on the feasibility of hydrogen for domestic heating before the end of the year.

A decision on the role of hydrogen in home heating is currently slated to be taken in 2026.

However, a report published by University College London (UCL) in partnership with the Aldersgate Group claims that waiting until 2026 creates “a significant barrier to the important near-term development of both hydrogen boilers and heat pumps”.

Instead, the report calls for a decision to be made before the end of 2023, urging the government to show “a preference for the electrification of home heating and cooling, using hydrogen only where a viable alternative is not possible”.

It states: “Given the commercial availability and lower cost of heat pumps compared to blue and green hydrogen options, the widespread electrification of domestic heating offers the most obvious route to the decarbonisation of homes across the UK.

“Further, the potential for immediate and significant emissions reductions arising from heat pump deployment could accelerate what has so far been a slow journey to domestic decarbonisation.

“To capture the clear benefits of electrified heating, we recommend that government bring forward the strategic decision on the roles of hydrogen and electrification to the end of 2023.”

It adds: “This decision is currently set for 2026, creating a significant barrier to the important near-term development of both hydrogen boilers and heat pumps, and creating uncertainty in other sectors as regards the future availability of low carbon hydrogen (including in some sectors for whom electrification is not an option).

“There are strong indications that hydrogen could only play, at best, a marginal role in relation to home heating and therefore we recommend that a clear preference for electrification is set out to remove uncertainty.”

The report has been published amid speculation that prime minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to row back on a number of green policies, which could delay the uptake of cleaner heating systems, such as heat pumps and hydrogen. In particular, Sunak is expected to ease the boiler ban which currently prohibits any gas boiler installations by 2035.

The Aldersgate Group is an alliance of leaders from business, politics and civil society that drives action for a sustainable economy.

Bringing forward a decision on hydrogen is just one of six recommendations made within the report. Other recommendations include:

• Extending the role of long-run marginal cost pricing, in the form of fixed-price contracts, for suitable technologies
• Introducing a targeted social tariff for the fuel poor
• Moving policy cost recovery from energy bills to general taxation
• Laying the foundations for market wide Time of Use Tariffs (TOUs) in future
• Urgently addressing standing charges on Pre-Payment Meter (PPM) customers

Laith Whitwham, Aldersgate Group policy principal, said: “The UK is currently behind on the decarbonisation of home heating. In this report, we put forward a series of recommendations that, if implemented, will reduce emissions, bills, and government expenditure in the face of an energy crisis.

“We also show how a strong commitment to the electrification of home heating – and, as temperatures increase, cooling – is needed from the government now to create confidence and unlock investment across the energy sector.”

Rachel Fletcher, director of regulation and economics at Octopus Energy, welcomed the report and has thrown her weight behind the recommendations. She added: “The need for government support for customers struggling to pay their energy bills is timely.

“It also serves as an important reminder of how smart, time of use tariffs can help all customers in keeping their costs down while supporting a decarbonising energy system. We fully support the recommendation of taking policy costs off electricity bills in order to encourage more customers to switch from gas to more efficient, green, electric heating.”

UCL research fellow Phil McNally added: “The government should take ambitious steps to deliver affordable change in both the near and long-term, in a way that avoids the huge sums of money spent on temporary solutions.”