Stark says hydrogen town plan is ‘on the edge of feasibility’

The government’s goal to have a whole town heated by hydrogen by 2030 is “on the edge of feasibility” according to the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

Speaking to Utility Week, Chris Stark welcomed Boris Johnson’s pledges on decarbonisation of heat but stressed the scale of the challenge ahead.

He also called the new annual target of installing 600,000 heat pumps by 2028 “a hell of a step forward”, even if it is still not quite as ambitious as needed.

On the hydrogen targets, he said: “It’s a really exciting and new development. Having a whole town on hydrogen is a massive step up. I was looking for a baby step up before that. It is certainly ambitious and must reflect a lot of confidence in government that you can run a town that way.

“If it comes off, that will leapfrog the hydrogen deployment we were envisaging over the next ten years.

“It is feasible but it’s really on the edge of feasibility: the legwork needed between then and now is significant.”

Stark said the best candidate for the government’s initiative would be a town where the district network has already been converted to plastic pipes and near the source of hydrogen production given the difficulties involved in transporting the gas over long distances.

An example of a potential pilot hydrogen town, he said Cowdenbeath in Fife, because it is close to production facilities and could be isolated from the wider gas grid.

Stark added that the hydrogen was not likely to be a new settlement because the latest properties are more energy efficient and can easily be heated with heat pumps.

He described the government’s new heat pump target as a “really strong commitment.”

He added: “It’s not quite the run rate it would need to be at but it’s a hell of a step forward and a very, very significant increase compared to where were we are today.”

The CCC said in its latest report on the UK’s progress on meeting its statutory climate change goals, published in June, that around 1.5 million heat pump installations would be required per annum by the early 2030s.

However, Stark stressed it is “not clear” how the 600,000 target, which represents an at least 20-fold increase on the existing heat pump deployment rate of under 30,000 per annum, will be delivered.

Overall, hailing the 10-point plan, he said: “It is unprecedented to have this amount of activity in the energy space: to see the prime minister make this commitment is an enormous step forward.”

As an example, Stark said the government’s pledge to bring forward the ban on internal combustion engine cars and vans to 2030 is a “massive commitment” that the CCC projects will result in 40 per cent of vehicles on the road being hybrid or electric by that date.