QUEEN'S SPEECH SPECIAL

The Queen’s Speech was a good day for the UK hydrogen industry. Here’s why:

CONSERVATIVES PUT HYDROGEN AT THE CENTRE OF ENERGY BILL:?Beneath the pomp and ceremony, lies a lot of raw political rhetoric and point scoring. It’s therefore significant that Conservative Campaign Headquarters created the graphic below (with the red line drawn added by HY NEWS) that placed hydrogen at the centre of its forthcoming Energy Security Bill.

Why this matters:?This graphic would have been signed off by No10, so the emphasis on hydrogen illustrates what HY NEWS has said several times before - that the Government’s progress on hydrogen is being driven by the PM. HY NEWS has spoken to several influential Conservative sources since the Queen’s Speech, who have all reiterated personal ambitions to make significant progress on hydrogen through the Energy Security Bill, and other formal measures, over the coming parliamentary session..

THE DETAIL OUTLINES KEY LEGISLATIVE STEPS:?The precise wording in the Queen’s Speech was that "My Ministers will bring forward an Energy Bill to deliver the transition to cheaper, cleaner, and more secure energy. This will build on the success of the COP26 Summit in Glasgow last year.”

In the supporting documents, the Government stated the Bill would attract: “billions in private investment and support tens of thousands of new, skilled jobs across the UK. Developing Carbon Capture Usage and Storage and low carbon hydrogen will create new industries, transforming our former industrial heartlands”. This includes introducing “state-of-the-art business models” for hydrogen and?enabling “the first ever large-scale hydrogen heating trial, allowing us to inform the role of hydrogen in heat decarbonisation in 2026”.

Why this matters:?On the face of it, these commitments on hydrogen are repetitions of previously stated actions. However, inclusion here provides the?critical legislative basis underpinning progress towards the 10GW 2030 ambition. We have yet to see the detail but the approach seems to be narrowly focussed on the funding model for hydrogen production and enabling hydrogen trials. A reasonable question from industry could be to ask why there isn’t more on hydrogen given the breadth of commitments in the Hydrogen Strategy? The fact is that policy development in other areas is not yet mature enough to be included in the Queen’s Speech. Instead we can expect to see more calls for evidence and consultations in coming months, including on the new networks and storage commitment set out in the Energy Security Strategy.?If there is another Queen’s Speech before the next election, HY NEWS predicts greater detail on hydrogen.

MPS PROMOTE HYDROGEN TO A PACKED COMMONS:?It’s tradition that the first speech in the Commons after the Queen’s Speech is a comedic one. This year, Graham Stuart (a former International Trade minister) did the honours. During his speech, he side-stepped from the gags to promote hydrogen and said that the Energy Bill is of “particular importance to my constituents” because “it will make possible the development of hydrogen, and of carbon capture and storage, on which I expect the Humber to be not only a national but a global leader.” You watch the clip?here. Sir Keir Starmer also mentioned?hydrogen in his speech (clip?here), stating that the Government should provide initial investment that brings confidence and acts as a catalyst for the “private sector to invest in gigafactories, hydrogen and steel—in high productivity jobs right here in Britain.”?Other MPs, including Andrea Leadsom (former Business Secretary), Matt Western, Peter Aldous, Jim Shannon, and Lisa Nandy, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary also promoted hydrogen.

Why this matters:?The Queen’s Speech is one of the ‘big parliamentary moments’ of the year. The speeches from Graham Stuart and Sir Keir Starmer in particular will have been watched by the vast majority of MPs, Westminster lobby journalists and political reporters across the UK, think tanks, trade bodies, charities, unions, academics and - importantly - members of the public with an interest in politics. Having hydrogen spoken of so positively, at such a formal and high profile occasion, is another good sign that hydrogen is increasingly part of mainstream political discourse.