STUART SUGGESTS ENERGY BILL MOVEMENT “VERY SOON” - UK AND SOUTH AFRICA PMs AGREE GREEN HYDROGEN COLLABORATION - CBI ANNUAL CONF

Presented by bp

Graham Stuart, Minister for Climate (who has?'hydrogen' listed as one of his ministerial responsibilities) spoke at the Conservative Home Powering the Nation conference this week. Answering a question from the audience on if/when the Energy Bill may re-appear, Stuart said with a wry smile “the government is committed to the Energy Bill and you will hear about it very soon.” Elsewhere, Minister Stuart:

• Highlighted the potential of hydrogen to decarbonise industry in Teesside and Humber.
• Discussed the costs of upgrading the grid and said there was not enough focus in this area.
• Said he looks at net zero from a ‘getting down the cost curve’ perspective and that this is his primary motivator when considering the options for decarbonisation.
• Referred to learning lessons from wind in terms of getting the price of future technologies down as quickly as possible.

Alicia Kearns, the new chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee also spoke at the event. Kearns takes a hard line on China, and raised concerns during the event that many of the technologies required for net zero, such as batteries and solar panels, are already dominated by China. She suggested the UK should invest more into R&D and take longer-term, strategic decisions for energy security and resilience.

Why this matters:?The points made by Minister Stuart and the language he used should be kept in mind when seeking to engage with him and his officials. More specifically though, the indication that the Energy Bill may soon recommence its progress through Parliament is to be welcomed. As HY NEWS has covered previously, this Bill is vital to enabling some of the legislative building blocks for hydrogen, and key to signalling to investors that the Government remains committed to the industry.

*** A MESSAGE FROM BP?***?bp’s HyGreen Teesside project is drawing strong customer interest for hydrogen in Teesside. It could decarbonise industry, provide heat to homes and businesses, and fuel the development of Teesside into the UK’s first major hydrogen transport hub. Find out more about HyGreen Teesside and the MoUs with signed with customers?here.

HY NEWS received multiple updates from the Government this week regarding new agreements between the UK and South Africa on hydrogen. A press release issued on 22 Nov carried the subheading “UK and South Africa commit to unlock investments for major infrastructure projects and green hydrogen”, and featured a photo of Rishi Sunak shaking hands with Cyril Ramaphosa, the SA PM - who was in the UK for the first State Visit under King Charles’ reign. According to another release,?when the two PMs sat down together in Downing Street, they “discussed bolstering cooperation on green hydrogen”and highlighted South Africa’s resources in platinum, palladium and iridium.?

Why this matters:?The official MoU from the state visit confirms that collaboration between the UK and South Africa will feature “energy research and innovation, specifically the hydrogen economy, finding innovative solutions to our mutual energy challenge”. HY NEWS has been following the many trade discussions that have taken place across the year, with hydrogen featuring prominently as an area of export opportunity. What makes this week’s talks with South Africa significant though is that:?

1. The agreement on hydrogen appears?more specific, and also looks to address some of the concerns raised by Alica Kearns (above) regarding supply chains.
2. Given the PM hasn’t yet spoken publicly?about?hydrogen since entering No10,?the?readouts from these international discussions,?are?positive?signs?that the PM (and his officials) are aware?of the economic and energy security opportunities to be won.

The CBI held their annual conference this week, with both the PM and Leader of the Opposition speaking. Some key points:

• CBI Director General, Tony Danker included hydrogen in his speech. He talked of the power of Government as a market mover: “Seeing the market. Sharing the risk. Creating investible propositions”. He said the UK had done this well with Offshore Wind and “we can do it again – in hydrogen and Sustainable Aviation Fuel”.
• Rishi Sunak’s speech focussed on innovation and skills, but notably he did not name-check net zero, decarbonisation or hydrogen.?He got a mixed review for his speech. For example, the CBI commented afterwards that “The Prime Minister started to lay out a vision for a new approach. But what we didn’t get today are the details of the measures to achieve it. Businesses are making investment decisions now and need to hear more on this agenda as soon as possible.”
• Sir Keir Starmer mentioned hydrogen three times in his speech. These were:
• “This Government has archived Britain’s growth. That’s why situations like British Volt keep happening. Why the CEO of Johnson Matthey says we’re falling behind in the race for clean Hydrogen. Why electric car manufacturers are leaving Britain in droves”.
• Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan is “a plan to make Britain a green growth superpower – to invest in wind, solar, nuclear, hydrogen”
• “Clean hydrogen in South Yorkshire, Merseyside, the East of England”.

Why this matters:?The CBI conference is one of the big events in the political calendar, so it’s good to see hydrogen getting this profile. HY NEWS checked Sir Keir Starmer’s 2021 CBI speech, and it contained no mentions of hydrogen. Although?a crude metric, the fact that the Labour leader (and his advisors)?chose to mention hydrogen?three times illustrates the emergence of hydrogen as an area of focus for Labour - as we’ve been tracking across previous editions.