Last week, Locogen attended ETP’s The Future of Hydrogen Innovation event at Glasgow Caledonian University.
The events aim was to celebrate Scottish hydrogen innovation and successes, as well as explore current and future challenges for the sector. There were a huge range of participatory discussions around the next steps for Hydrogen in Scotland (and further afield), here are our key takeaways from the day.
The Scottish Government is backing hydrogen strongly and there’s lots of support available (for all scales)
There’s an understandable drive to scale up hydrogen projects and infrastructure (H100 Fife being a flagship example), and as a result of this associated funding pots, but that doesn’t mean smaller organisations or projects are left without support. From free Hydrogen CPD courses to Innovate UK travel grants to support Scottish SMEs wishing to attend consortia-building events in Europe there’s still a broad range of support available to businesses and groups working in this nascent commercial sector.
Integration within the broader renewable energy sector is a work in progress
The Scottish Government has ambitions for at least 5 GW of installed renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045 but hydrogen infrastructure will not stand alone and there’s still lots of work to be done to reliably integrate hydrogen production, storage, and transport within the broader renewable energy ecosystem in Scotland. Grid connection challenges – as faced by the rest of the industry – cannot be ignored and co-production of hydrogen from curtailed supply is not in itself a solution to grid issues. Price and economic security, and the importance of building a strong domestic supply chain were also raised as issues requiring strong regional and national government support. On a positive note, there was much praise for the skilled employee base available in Scotland, with transferable expertise from the oil and gas industry as well as other renewable technologies. This is a real strength for businesses looking to start up or grow in Scotland, and definitely something to be celebrated!
Public acceptance and education are going to be key consenting challenges
At almost every breakout session, regardless of the topic, public acceptance and the need for more proactive public education came up in conversation. As hydrogen projects move beyond feasibility and into planning, the importance of an educated and engaged public rises. The need for proactive stakeholder engagement as part of the consenting process shouldn’t be underestimated.
Locogen’s Planning and Environment team have worked on a large range of renewable energy consenting projects, including providing expertise and support for technically tricky projects. Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss your projects, whatever stage of the process you’re at.