Hydrogen

Can hydrogen help decarbonise small industrial emitters?

By Maria Sharmina and Vincenzo Spallina Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Environment, Inclusive Growth, Renewables, Research and development, Science and Technology, UK economy Posted: April 7, 2025

Decarbonising industry, among other hard-to-abate sectors, is a high priority in the UK as the country embarks on a pathway to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The government’s focus to date has been on the decarbonisation of large-scale energy-intensive industries. However, more than a fifth of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions come from […]

Hydrogen: the missing piece in the clean energy puzzle

By Aoife Foley, Dlzar Al Kez and Faraedoon Ahmed Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Environment, Renewables, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: March 17, 2025

Hydrogen has been proposed as a clean energy carrier, offering a sustainable and efficient alternative to fossil fuels during the net zero transition. Hydrogen’s significance lies in its production process, which in some cases means that it can be a zero-emission energy source. Hydrogen’s high energy density and versatility allow it to be used in various forms, including […]

Decarbonising transport: is hydrogen the answer?

By Alice Larkin and Amanda Lea-Langton Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Environment, Growth and Inclusion, Renewables, Science and Technology Posted: February 25, 2025

The UK government has enshrined net zero into law, but if it is to meet its targets then big strides need to be made towards decarbonising land-based transport, aviation, and shipping. Unlike most land-based transport, aviation and shipping are considered ‘difficult to decarbonise’. Their long-lived infrastructure, ongoing reliance on energy dense fuels, and issues around […]

Getting it right: are hydrogen standards good enough?

By Christopher Jones Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Environment, Renewables, Research and development, Science and Engineering Posted: February 11, 2025

Hydrogen has the potential to be an important industrial feedstock and fuel. There are, however, various ways to produce and use it, leading to diverse supply chains with different environmental implications. Two considerations for the role of hydrogen in a low carbon economy stand out – ensuring that hydrogen production and supply has sufficiently low […]

Is advanced nuclear the route to low-carbon hydrogen production?

By William Bodel Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Renewables, Research and development, Science and Technology, UK economy Posted: January 27, 2025

There is increasing recognition that a UK net zero future will feature a significant role for hydrogen as an energy vector. The UK currently relies heavily on natural gas for heat, industry and power production. If net zero ambitions are to be realised, this must be replaced with either increased electrification (powered by low-carbon sources) […]

How green is hydrogen?

By Amanda Lea-Langton Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Environment, Renewables, Science and Engineering Posted: January 15, 2025

Development of a low carbon hydrogen-based economy is seen as a major part of achieving net-zero emissions across the world. Hydrogen is a flexible and potentially non-polluting fuel because it only produces water when it is used in fuel cells or burnt. However, the production of hydrogen can have a high carbon footprint depending on […]

Underground hydrogen storage, the key to a green and sustainable future

By Lin Ma and Kevin Taylor Filed Under: Energy and Environment, Renewables, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: September 4, 2023

In response to the climate crisis, renewable energy production has increased significantly over the last decade. According to National Grid, the UK produced its trillionth kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity generated from renewable sources on 15 May 2023, and solar energy and offshore wind are predicted to grow five-fold by 2030. Hydrogen, a potentially green […]

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage – real-worlding emission estimates

By Muir Freer, Clair Gough, Andrew Welfle and Amanda Lea-Langton Filed Under: All posts, Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, UK economy Posted: January 16, 2023

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) could play an important role in meeting the UK’s net zero emissions target according to the sixth carbon budget scenarios. However, there are many different ways BECCS could be deployed in the UK, and how that roll out is managed could make a big difference in terms of […]

On productivity and Net Zero

By Jonatan Pinkse Filed Under: All posts, Cities and Environment, Energy and Environment, Growth and Inclusion, Industry 4.0, OnProductivity, Renewables, Science and Engineering, UK economy Posted: October 21, 2022

The UK government has assigned itself with the tasks of boosting productivity in left-behind areas and transitioning to a net-zero economy. In this blog, Professor Jonatan Pinkse explores how the UK can simultaneously improve its standards of productivity regionally while transitioning to a net-zero economy. His policy recommendations include securing green jobs and not using […]

The Energy Security Strategy: Going nuclear

By Francis Livens Filed Under: Energy and Environment, Science and Engineering, Science and Technology Posted: April 7, 2022

The government has today announced plans to build eight new nuclear reactors in the UK, alongside strategies to boost wind, hydrogen, and solar production. These new reactors are intended to improve the UK’s energy self-sufficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as creating thousands of new jobs. In this blog, Professor Francis Livens of […]