Is hydrogen becoming more than just hot air?

By Jamie Gordon – Executive Director 

Hydrogen has long been described as a potential answer to some of the hardest problems in decarbonisation, but the UK debate is now shifting from “what is hydrogen?” to “how do we build the infrastructure to use it?”

The attraction is clear: hydrogen creates no carbon dioxide at the point of use and could support sectors where electrification is difficult, including heavy industry, long-haul transport, shipping, aviation, power generation, long-duration energy storage and domestic heating.

But it suffers from a chicken and egg status when it comes to building up supply and generating demand. Government policy is therefore central to kick starting projects as industry confidence still depends on converting policy statements into investable projects.

The Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HAR) allocate revenue support – through the Hydrogen Production Business Model – to low-carbon hydrogen production facilities. HAR2 shortlisted 27 electrolytic hydrogen projects across England, Scotland and Wales for the next stage of due diligence and cost assessment.

However, this was over a year ago and the timelines communicated back then were that further announcements would be made in early 2026, yet no further details on HAR2, or HAR3 and HAR4, or the refreshed Hydrogen Strategy have been forthcoming. So, for a nascent sector desperately in need of direction, these delays are certainly not useful.

The most significant recent shift is the growing focus on transport and storage. Last June the Government confirmed more than £500 million for the UK’s first regional hydrogen transport and storage network, intended to connect hydrogen producers with end users, including power stations and industry. The same announcement identified industrial heartlands such as Merseyside, Teesside and the Humber as areas expected to benefit from skilled jobs and supply-chain activity. This matters because without pipelines, storage and offtake, hydrogen production projects risk remaining stranded assets rather than becoming part of a functioning energy system.

The Hydrogen Infrastructure Strategic Planning Statement published in October 2025 explains how the National Energy System Operator (NESO) is expected to take forward strategic planning for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure, with the first tangible hydrogen planning outputs expected through strategic energy planning products, again due in 2026. The same policy statement sets out DESNZs intention for the UK’s first regional hydrogen network to become operational from 2031. In practice, this means hydrogen infrastructure is being drawn into the same kind of whole-system energy planning already familiar from electricity and gas networks, with a stronger emphasis on where production, storage, transport and industrial demand should be co-located, with the opportunity to utilise pipe infrastructure by cluster around high CO2 emitters and including carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.

With more than £20 billion of private sector investment described as ready to be deployed, but awaiting clearer policy frameworks, the long-awaited HAR announcements should act as a hydrogen starting gun.