Carbon Trust announced its new clean hydrogen accelerator, which aims to help secure the UK’s energy supply and support climate targets.
The project will join industry players, backed by BEIS, the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
The Clean Hydrogen Innovation Programme (CHIP) aims to speed up the deployment of clean hydrogen by reducing the end-to-end cost through technical innovation so that it becomes cost competitive with conventional alternatives.
The model used for this accelerator will follow the same approach as other highly successful collaborative innovation programmes run by the Carbon Trust, including the Offshore Wind Accelerator, which has helped to reduce the cost of offshore wind and accelerate growth.
The high end-to-end cost of clean hydrogen is one of the main barriers to its use. CHIP’s key focus will be on reducing the costs and risks of clean hydrogen by targeting technology innovation at components where the industry identifies there is the highest cost reduction potential.
The first phase of CHIP will focus on carrying out an innovation needs assessment to identify key priorities for its initial work. Based on this information, the second phase will address these issues by stimulating the supply chain through competitive innovation calls. CHIP will receive initial funding from BEIS alongside contributions from industry participants.
The Carbon Trust is calling for the industry to engage with the programme now to help collaborate and shape the plan to develop solutions that will accelerate further development of clean hydrogen to meet the UK’s net zero energy transition goals.
Julia King, Chair of the Carbon Trust, said, “This new clean hydrogen accelerator fills a gap in the current innovation landscape by focusing on stimulating the supply chain. It will play a vital role in ensuring the UK can reach its Net Zero targets.”
Minister for Climate Graham Stuart said, “ This new programme will help accelerate the development of the UK’s hydrogen sector, supporting the creation of new jobs and bringing in new investment.”
