Redcar hydrogen trial scrapped by government due to 'lack of supply'
A proposed trial replacing gas boilers with hydrogen ones in homes in Redcar has been scrapped due to a lack of supply, the Government has said.
It has faced strong opposition from residents and energy experts who see using hydrogen for home heating as inappropriate.
About 2,000 people were going to have their gas boilers replaced with hydrogen ones in Redcar town centre, Warrenby, Coatham and parts of Kirkleatham.
Redcar was chosen due to its close links to existing energy infrastructure, including hydrogen and production storage facilities.
To supply hydrogen to peoples’ homes, gas networks – who were to run the trials – wanted to pipe it through the existing gas infrastructure, which would be unsafe to do so unless everyone on that network changed their boilers.
Cadent, the north-west operator, planned instead to build an entirely new network of pipes to supply hydrogen before the Government said it would no longer support the trial there, announcing today (Thursday 14 December) that it will no longer support the one in Redcar either.
The government said it had decided not to proceed with the trial as the main source of hydrogen "will not be available."
Secretary of State for Energy Security Claire Coutinho said the Government will still make a decision in 2026 on whether hydrogen is suitable for home heating, using evidence from similar trials in Fife and across Europe.
Dawn Campbell, a Redcar resident, said: “I hope this decision will ensure that any future proposals on the inevitable changes required in meeting our energy needs are made together with independent experts and residents and identify the questions and answers that have caused so much stress in this community.”
Michael Liebreich, Bloomberg New Energy Finance founder, said stopping the trial was the “right decision” and to go ahead with it “would have been deeply unfair” to the people of Redcar.
Alice Harrison, fossil fuels campaigner with Global Witness, said: “The Redcar hydrogen trial was a red herring. Using hydrogen to heat homes is dangerous, energy-intensive and more expensive than other low-carbon technology like heat pumps.”
Professor David Cebon, co-founder of the Hydrogen Science Coalition, said: “The Government should be congratulated for following the scientific evidence about the unsuitability of hydrogen for heating.
“This decision means that the UK can reduce carbon emissions much more quickly and economically, using a sixth of the renewable energy of heating with green hydrogen.
“Any green hydrogen can now be used for important industrial processes like making fertiliser and steel.
“Other countries should follow suit – to help the world get to net zero emissions as quickly as possible.”
Experts had warned that using hydrogen for homes would require such large amounts that some of it would have to be imported or supplied with blue hydrogen – so called as it requires burning fossil fuels to produce – which would negate the point of switching from gas.
They said using green hydrogen – which is produced with renewable energy only – should be used sparingly for industries that are difficult to remove from fossil fuels whereas heat pumps or other low-carbon systems can be used to heat homes.
Jacob Young, the MP for Redcar, said: "I have been told this morning the government has chosen to not to do the Hydrogen Village in Redcar.
"I recognise that this will be welcomed by a number of residents in Coatham who had concerns about the project.
"Although I’m disappointed, because of the benefits I felt it would bring to Teesside - I welcome the certainty the decision finally brings.
"It’s great to see that EDF’s project to build a green hydrogen electrolyser in Teesside will be going ahead - and I know we will continue to lead the world here in the future of this exciting technology."
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