Yesterday saw the launch of the H2FC SUPERGEN White Paper entitled ‘The role of hydrogen, and of fuel cells, in providing affordable, secure low-carbon heat in future low carbon energy systems’.
The event, hosted by the Greater London Authority, saw presentations from the report’s UCL and Imperial College authors, as well as discussions from key stakeholders in the field of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, including Tim YeoMP (Chair of the Select Committee on Climate Change), Dr Jonathan Frost (Director of Fuel Cells, Johnson Matthey) and Dennis Hayter (Intelligent Energy) and Phil Sargent (Department of Energy and Climate Change).
Prof. Paul Ekins (UCL) who led the report said, ‘‘Heat from hydrogen and fuel cells has some advantages over other low-carbon heat sources, and its costs have greatly reduced in recent years. If this trend continues, it could play an important role in reducing peak power demands and finding a new role for the gas grid in a low-carbon UK energy system. This study suggests that hydrogen and fuel cells for heating should receive policy support equal to that for other potential low-carbon heat sources, in order to keep open the option for its significant deployment in the future.’’
The paper, which can be found here had significant input from key industrial and government stakeholders, aims to provide an authoritative, accessible, detailed and unbiased assessment of the potential of hydrogen and fuel cells in low carbon heating for UK policymakers and other stakeholders.