Can hydrogen help us reach net zero?

Rarely a week goes by in politics without a reminder of the Conservatives’ ambitions to hit net zero by 2050. But how well do they understand the path to get there? Amidst the barrage of funding announcements and energy strategies, there remain outstanding questions about the road ahead – and one of the most persistent is around the role of hydrogen.

To its advocates, this abundant chemical element could be the key to weaning large economies off their dependence on natural gas, providing a reliable and greener power source that can be deployed at scale. Yet to its doubters, the hydrogen dream remains inefficient and impractical – rendering it a costly distraction from the real decarbonisation challenge.

For its part, the Conservative government has attempted to keep its options open: announcing funding packages for a series of discrete hydrogen trials, while pressing ahead with electrification en masse.