Shapps has ‘moral duty’ to explain hydrogen stance

The energy secretary must set out what his apparent sidelining of hydrogen as a source of home heating means for customers.

Trade bodies for the gas networks have demanded clarity after comments from Grant Shapps in which he expressed doubt about rolling out hydrogen for heat.

It has led to calls for Shapps to confirm if this is now government policy and if so to address the affordability of heat pumps and how the spike in electricity demand will be managed.

However, heat pump advocates have backed Shapps, saying “the sooner the government makes clear that hydrogen for heating won’t play a big role the better”.

Speaking at a Westminster event on Thursday (13 July), Shapps is reported to have said: “There was a time when people thought you just have something that looks like a gas boiler and we’ll feed hydrogen into it.

“The problem with that is the hydrogen molecules are very small. You have to replace potentially quite a lot of piping. And of course, you’ve got to produce the green hydrogen to make that whole thing stack up, but the kind of volumes mean that the transition would be pretty slow.

“So I’m not sure that home heating will be all through hydrogen.”

Mike Foster, chief executive of the Energy & Utilities Alliance, which represents gas networks and boiler manufacturers, told Utility Week that Shapps needed to clarify whether this was a “serious statement or a slip of the tongue”.

He added: “If this is a serious statement of policy, the secretary of state needs to now tell the British people where the electricity is going to come from and how much it is going to cost on their bills – not just to produce it but to get it from the wind farms into the home. There is a moral duty to tell people what that cost is going to be.”

The former Labour MP added: “If he genuinely believes that heat pumps are the future for the 23 million homes on the gas grid, he has to tell every one of those consumers where they can get help to pay the £13,000 average installation costs. The government has never hinted that they’re going to make a massive contribution. Their subsidy scheme is limited to 30,000 units but there’s 23 million homes that Grant Shapps has now decided are going to have a heat pump.

“If it was a serious statement, he needs to tell consumers where the money is going to come from. And if it was a slip of the tongue then he needs to backtrack quickly.”

On Labour’s likely approach to decarbonisation of heat if it forms the next government, Foster said the party would first have to prioritise its “highly ambitious” target to deliver a green grid by 2030.

He added: “That is going to take up all of their time and effort so any decisions about ruling out options are not going to be a priority for an incoming Labour government. They will want to keep all options open while they tackle the massive project of decarbonising the country’s electricity supply.”

Asked whether that meant the 2026 deadline to make a decision on the role of hydrogen for heat would be pushed back under a Labour government, Foster said: “I don’t know whether they would push it back or whether the decision in 2026 would be not to rule it out.”

Speculation leads to great uncertainty

Shapps’ comments followed the government’s abrupt decision to reject Cadent’s proposed hydrogen village trial in Whitby. The announcement was made by Lord Callanan on Twitter with no official statement made through the department. While Northern Gas Networks’ bid to convert the gas pipes of 2,000 homes in Redcar to carry hydrogen is now the only contender for a state-backed pilot, the government has said no final decision has been made.

Utility Week understands the decision shocked both the gas networks and civil servants working on the hydrogen village initiative.

James Earl, director of gas at the ENA, also called for clarity on the government’s stance on hydrogen.

He said: “The government needs to ensure it is being clear – with customers and investors – about its hydrogen policies. Comments and speculation without firm policy commitments leads to greater uncertainty.

“The sector is currently waiting for political decisions on how the hydrogen rollout will work and the timeframe for it to occur, and when this roadmap is set, network operators are ready to deliver at pace.”

Despite these objections, the government’s apparent thinking is in line with 43 independent studies that has shown heating with hydrogen is less efficient and more expensive than the alternatives such as heat pumps and district heating, according to Jan Rosenow of the Regulatory Assistance Project think tank.

He told Utility Week: “The government is right to be sceptical about the potential of hydrogen for heating at scale. Clarifying the strategy for decarbonising home heating would give the industry much needed certainty and drive investment into clean heating technology. Other countries are already ahead of the UK and the sooner the government makes clear that hydrogen for heating won’t play a big role the better.”

The department for energy security and net zero told Utility Week it had nothing further to add on the secretary of state’s comments.

Labour did not reply to a request for comment on the party’s hydrogen stance.