Scotland publishes draft Hydrogen Action Plan

The Scottish government on Wednesday published a draft Hydrogen Action Plan that outlines actions over the next five years to help develop a hydrogen economy.

The plan follows the publication in December 2020 of the Hydrogen Policy Statement, which set an ambition for 5 GW of hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. It is backed by a GBP-100-million (USD 135m/EUR 117m) five-year funding commitment announced alongside the Hydrogen Policy Statement.

The government said the five-year capital investment programme will be targeted at spurring regional renewable hydrogen production hubs and renewable hydrogen projects. A GBP-10-million Hydrogen Innovation Fund will be launched next year.

In addition, the Energy Transition Fund is being increased to up to GBP 75 million to provide GBP 15 million for an Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub.

The draft plan will be subjected to consultation until January 19, 2022.

“Scotland has the resources, the people and the ambition to become a world leader in hydrogen production and our Hydrogen Action Plan sets out how we will work collaboratively with the energy sector to drive progress over the next five years,” said Net Zero and Energy Secretary Michael Matheson.

“Our priorities are to get as much renewable hydrogen into the energy system as quickly as possible while supporting the establishment of low-carbon hydrogen production at scale in the 2020s, linked to Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)," Matheson added.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.351/EUR 1.169)

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