Government axes plans for Redcar’s trial of hydrogen for heating
Northern Gas Networks wanted to supply about 1,800 homes with clean-burning hydrogen
Hydrogen for the Redcar Hydrogen Community project had been due to be supplied by BP’s proposed HyGreen Teesside plant but this has also failed to win government support
ALAMY
The government has scrapped plans for a large-scale trial of hydrogen for home heating, in a setback for gas companies hoping it will secure a future for their pipe networks.
Northern Gas Networks wanted to supply about 1,800 homes in Redcar with clean-burning hydrogen in place of natural gas, switching over the gas in their pipes in 2026.
But the plan had attracted local protests and the government said on Thursday that “ministers have decided not to proceed with a hydrogen trial in Redcar”.
The government claimed the reason was that “the main source of hydrogen will not be available”, although it appears that this is only because of a simultaneous government decision not to award funding to the BP project that would have supplied
