Hydrogen has a critical role to play in the decarbonization of transport, including in the rail sector. It is also expected to play a significant role alongside the electrification of the rail network.
The Hydrogen Transport Benchmarking report, undertaken by Hydrogen UK and its members, makes three key recommendations to ensure the successful implementation of hydrogen within the UK transport sector:
- Publish a Hydrogen in Transport strategy cutting across all modes of transport enabling synergies to be identified and built upon.
- Establish a minimum viable network of 200, >1 ton per day capacity, hydrogen refueling stations by 2030.
- Ensure the rollout of more hydrogen ecosystems like the Tees Valley project which attempt to aggregate various hydrogen demands to de-risk supply investment.
The report presents a high-level overview of the UK’s current global position, benchmarking hydrogen transport deployment and hydrogen related transport policies against other international economies. It is intended to act as a springboard for further analysis and spark debate with key government and industry stakeholders.
Throughout 2023, the Hydrogen UK Transport Working Group will be exploring various topics, including helping shape policy in areas where hydrogen is an emerging and promising transport solution, and identifying synergies in using hydrogen between different transport sectors.
Hydrogen UK’s CEO Clare Jackson said, “We’re at an exciting juncture in the deployment of hydrogen as an essential component in the UK’s path to Net Zero. We know that hydrogen has a critical role to play in the decarbonization of transport and this report highlights the importance of implementing a national hydrogen transport strategy.
“The UK Government and hydrogen industry must respond to ensure that we capitalize on the opportunities presented by this critical resource, which will help to drive the decarbonization of our transport sector,” Jackson added.
This report marks the third in a series of reports from Hydrogen UK (HUK) that it will be publishing throughout 2023. The previous report, Recommendations for the Acceleration of Hydrogen Networks, was released in January 2023.