The UK Government has ambitious targets for low-carbon hydrogen production. This form of hydrogen (primarily blue hydrogen and green hydrogen), has the potential to overcome some of the trickiest decarbonisation challenges facing our economy and help the UK meet its 2050 Net Zero target.
Over the next few years, multiple hydrogen projects will seek consent for planning permission and environmental permits. This poses a potential challenge for regulators and stakeholders who will not necessarily be familiar with hydrogen and the significant role it can play. Through our research we have explored whether this could represent a threat to the rapid roll out of projects and the achievement of the Government’s ambitions for hydrogen.
We surveyed 100 industry participants working for energy companies, infrastructure firms, industry bodies and specialist consultancies. We also interviewed a number of experts involved across a broad range of hydrogen projects. They have shared a diverse range of opinion and many valuable insights, sharing their thoughts on the issues slowing down the planning process and potential solutions to reduce the time taken to deliver approvals successfully.
We are extremely grateful to our survey respondents and interviewees for sharing their views and hope that this report acts as a springboard to stimulate discussion and productive further thinking for anyone involved in developing hydrogen infrastructure projects.
Download your copy of Getting to Net Zero: Consenting hydrogen projects