Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 20
Sixth Report - Hydrogen and carbon capture in Scotland
Published 10 Mar 2023
Paragraph 105
Addressed to Scotland Office
Scottish Affairs Committee Hydrogen and carbon capture in Scotland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Scotland is in a very strong position compared to many other countries wanting to develop their hydrogen industry, in part because it already has a large relevant skills base in the oil and gas sector that has the potential to be redeployed. The work the UK and Scottish Governments have been doing on skills and jobs for people to work in the hydrogen sector should be applauded, but further progress needs to be made urgently to ensure that Scotland continues to provide vital workers for the low carbon energy industry. The industry needs to take a leading role in working with both governments to identify gaps in the workforce and the skills that are needed as well as deciding how to transition and re-train people.
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, Sixth Report - Hydrogen and carbon capture in Scotland (HC 83), paragraph 105, 10 March 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 8 June 2023 (deadline 1 June 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees that the UK and Scottish Governments have clear hydrogen strategies and that close joint working matters on exports, while setting out its own delivery plans and declining to comment on recommendations addressed to the Scottish Government on devolved matters.
- On targets, the government calls up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen by 2030, "subject to affordability and value for money", "a stretching but deliverable ambition". It says the Scottish 5GW ambition "does not have a formal relationship" to the UK-wide figure.
- It commits to a hydrogen production delivery roadmap, "to be published by the end of the year", and plans a second electrolytic allocation round "later in 2023".
- On carbon capture, it describes CCUS as "a priority" and says it intends to "provide an update on next steps for Track-2 in the summer". It reports over £40m of development funding allocated to the Scottish cluster.
- On hydrogen storage, it commits to designing a storage business model "by 2025". On hydrogen-ready boilers, it is analysing consultation responses on a 2026 requirement and "will issue the Government response in due course".