The North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA), a partnership of companies, local leaders and academic experts, is calling for government investment to support a major industry cluster in the region.
According to the group, a robust hydrogen economy is vital if the UK is to meet its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
“The importance of hydrogen in reaching net zero carbon emissions can’t be underestimated. In fact, it’s hard to see how we’ll reach these ambitious targets without it - some might say it’s impossible,” said Prof Joseph Howe, chair of the NWHA.
Unlike natural gas hydrogen burns cleanly, producing just heat and water, making it an ideal fuel source for heating and transport - two areas where it has been notoriously difficult to bring down emissions.
‘We have all the elements’
The NWHA, launched late last year, brings together some of the biggest industry names in the region to establish the North West at the forefront of the UK’s hydrogen journey and create thousands of jobs.
The alliance’s bid to form the UK’s first ‘net zero carbon industrial cluster’ includes Hynet, a landmark hydrogen project which could completely transform the gas grid in the North West by delivering a hydrogen blend to homes and businesses instead of traditional natural gas.
Prof Howe continued: “In the North West we’ve been working for years on developing a hydrogen economy that can be replicated across the UK. We’re lucky that we have all the elements you need – the industry, the infrastructure and the innovation that could make this a reality.
“Hydrogen has shot to the top of the agenda and is now widely recognised as a vital part of the energy mix. We have the private sector in the North West ready to invest and with government support we can deliver something that’s transformational not only for the region but for the whole of the UK.”
Storage
One of the NWHA’s newest members is Storengy, which is planning to start building a hydrogen storage facility at a disused salt cavern in Cheshire by 2020.
Duncan Yellen from Storengy said: “We have unique geology in the North West with salt caverns able to store huge quantities of hydrogen. We’ve already been using them to store gas for years and we’re looking at how they could be repurposed and become part of the decarbonisation story.”
