Partner, Adrian Webb, has worked in our Infrastructure Services Division for 25 years. According to Adrian, hydrogen can only accelerate the UK’s journey towards becoming net zero by 2050 if it is underpinned by carefully curated multi-stakeholder engagement. We caught up with him to find out more about his views on the future of hydrogen.
“A new generation will be born before the UK’s deadline for generating net zero gas emissions arrives, but to be successful, work towards this target needs to accelerate now. The government is investing tens of billions of pounds over the next decade to meet the challenge of distributing low-carbon power from where it is produced to where it is needed, and while renewables such as solar and wind are part of the solution, using them alone will not provide all of the energy security.
“The government is recognising this, and as such, hydrogen is being heralded as a key vehicle to accelerate the nation’s drive towards achieving net zero. This was underlined recently by the introduction of a new certification scheme to verify the sustainability of low-carbon hydrogen to boost confidence in the fuel source, as we also approach another big milestone of seeing hydrogen introduced into some gas pipelines in 2025.
“It is engagement on multiple levels, however, that is going to prove crucial in helping the UK to achieve net zero in a timely manner. Large-scale projects to upgrade the UK’s underground infrastructure to support the roll-out of hydrogen will need to happen, but a key barrier to overcome here is securing permissions for gas companies to access private land.
“Few landowners like having infrastructure projects on their land, as they can affect their day-to-day operations. This ultimately puts negotiating skills to the test and is why it is crucial that the benefits to the UK economy of the hydrogen roll-out and its contribution to the net zero targets are emphasised up-front to property owners and stakeholders. This can help ensure access can be managed efficiently as opposed to lengthy discussions and unnecessary use of powers of entry that are available to most infrastructure developers. If this happens across the country, it could have a detrimental effect on the end goal.
“The messaging should communicate that any disruption will be short-term pain for long-term gain that will not only secure energy supplies for future generations but will also help to reduce production costs while helping the planet. We are an island nation that doesn’t have masses of room to divert piping around land covered by owners who do not wish to negotiate, so the more collaboratively that we can all work together, the better.
“Another key piece to the jigsaw is ensuring that there are enough hydrogen engineers to keep pace with the hydrogen roll-out between now, 2050 and beyond. Attracting a diverse workforce has historically been a struggle for the infrastructure industry due to a lack of tangible projects, but the hydrogen roll-out is an opportunity to seize the moment and change this. It begins within schools at the grassroots level, teaching them about what hydrogen is and the role it is going to play in the future. It is today’s youngsters who are the engineers of tomorrow, and hopefully, learning about these topics, it will inspire them to play their part in fighting climate change.
“Energy usage – and where it comes from - is now perhaps starting to dominate the general public’s consciousness more than before due to the cost of living and the war in Ukraine, and again, now is the ideal time for the government to educate the wider adult population on the benefits of adopting hydrogen-powered energy to boost uptake during the infancy of its roll-out. Ultimately, all businesses contributing to the UK’s energy infrastructure need to be engaged so they can persuade their stakeholders to play their part in this huge change if the nation is to be successful in meeting its 2050 net-zero targets.”
Adrian specialises in providing advice to major energy companies and private scheme developers throughout the UK in site searching, scheme design, planning, land acquisition, compensation for development, management, and promotion of major infrastructure projects in the energy sector. He has experience in promoting energy projects, specialising in the consenting regime for nationally significant infrastructure projects created by the 2008 Planning Act. For more information about our infrastructure services click here.
Our sustainable energy department is also supporting clients across the country with ‘green hydrogen’ production from renewable electricity sources.
