The UK could miss out on millions of pounds in investments and tens of thousands of jobs in the next ten years unless the Government raises its hydrogen production targets, according to a recent industry report.

More than three-quarters of respondents to Hydrogen Strategy Now’s State of the Hydrogen Nation survey said the 5GW hydrogen production target set out in the PM’s ‘Ten Point Plan’ is not ambitious enough, while almost half said the lack of a clear ‘Hydrogen Strategy’ has seen the UK miss out on valuable investments into UK hydrogen projects.

Meanwhile, some 81% said the UK was failing to meet its hydrogen potential, and 61% of respondents were not confident that the ‘Hydrogen Strategy’ would create a ‘world-leading’ hydrogen market, which the Government has set as its measurement of success.

The State of the Hydrogen Nation survey was launched in April this year to assess the views of industry leaders on the progress and potential of the UK hydrogen sector to date. This survey was the first of its kind in the UK, and has brought together the views of 120 leading national and international businesses and organisations at the forefront of the hydrogen economy.

Between them, the businesses employ around 100,000 people throughout all parts of the UK and have a combined net worth of £150 billion. They work across all sections of the hydrogen economy, including transport, heat, power generation, storage, infrastructure, investment, and transmission.

Chris Jackson, chairman of the UK Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association, said: “The UK has all the ingredients to be a world-leading hydrogen economy, creating jobs, economic growth and accelerating the transition to ‘net zero’.

Sadly, the results of this survey show that the Government needs to go further and faster in its development of an appropriately ambitious hydrogen policy framework, to support industry and unlock the UK’s potential.

“A clear ‘takeaway’ from this survey is that the Government could create greater confidence and interest in the UK market by significantly increasing its hydrogen production targets, both for 2025 and 2030.

If the Government’s ambition is to create a world-leading hydrogen market, then having world-leading targets is key, as is a detailed policy that shows close coordination between different Government departments.

“The UK hydrogen sector has put its faith in Government promises that the UK will have a world-leading hydrogen strategy, and consequently has invested millions in new staff, project development and scoping for new manufacturing facilities.

“If the Government can deliver on those promises, this survey and other engagement works run by UK industry have demonstrated that billions of pounds of capital will be deployed.”

The survey also revealed that industry experts believe that Scotland is far ahead of the other devolved administrations when it comes to hydrogen ambitions.

Almost three-quarters of respondents said the Scottish government’s ambitious hydrogen target of ‘5GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030’, combined with other decarbonisation commitments, has given it a clear lead over Wales and Northern Ireland.