It's the most abundant chemical element, estimated to contribute 75 per cent of the mass of the universe. Hydrogen is a clean alternative to methane, also known as natural gas. Reaching from Swansea to Swindon, the partnership brings together business, universities and local leaders to work together to add an extra £34bn to the economy by 2030 and reach Net Zero. The Western Gateway is the Pan-Regional Partnership for South Wales and Western England. The Western Gateway has nationally significant strengths in hydrogen, from the South Wales Industrial Cluster to the hydrogen hub in Swindon, and I’m delighted to support their work to power the UK’s Net Zero economy.” He said: “Last year the government confirmed that hydrogen is a key part of its plans to reach Net Zero, with aims to increase production to 10GW by 2030 and the announcement of a new national Hydrogen Champion. “Using our combined strengths and skills, our leaders and businesses are ready to provide huge economic opportunity for both countries finding world saving solutions for some of the toughest decarbonisation problems as the UK’s Green Energy Powerhouse.”Īlso speaking at the conference was the Rt Hon Chris Skidmore MP, chair of the UK Net Zero Review. Katherine Bennett CBE, Chair of the Western Gateway (a former senior vice president at Airbus and now Chief Executive of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult) said: “Our area has huge potential to deliver opportunities for the rest of the UK. The review calls for low carbon hydrogen production to come on stream where and when it is required, enabling hydrogen distribution networks and storage to be available to facilitate its movement and use, develop a skilled workforce in hydrogen, help spin out hydrogen innovation from universities into the commercial world and build wider confidence in hydrogen technology to drive investment. Building on the area’s skills and resources there are opportunities to unlock the potential of hydrogen technologies to ensure the UK leads the world in finding solutions to enable the transition to net zero by 2050. The technical review of the Western Gateway area’s existing energy supply and demands and hydrogen forecasts through to 2050 has revealed that while hydrogen is unlikely to be the whole answer in achieving net zero, there is broad agreement that it needs to be part of the solution. It would also require education and skills providers to retrain up to 108,000 workers and build a pipeline of new skills for the future. The review suggests that the area could become centre for net zero rail innovation and would need between £8 billion and £62 billion of new capital investment in order to make the most of these opportunities. The plans were unveiled at Hydrogen Gateway, a national net zero conference led by the Western Gateway Partnership in collaboration with Hydrogen South West, the South Wales Industrial Cluster and the GW4 Alliance (which brings together the universities of Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter). The plans build on the area as a centre for aviation engineering (it is home to 14 of the 15 world largest aerospace manufacturers) and suggests that it could take a lead in creating the sustainable air fuel for the future. The Western Gateway Hydrogen Delivery Pathway suggests that investing in hydrogen infrastructure within the area could create up to 40,000 new jobs (directly and indirectly) and safeguard a further 60,000 existing jobs.īy investing in hydrogen for the sectors which need it in the area, the plans also suggested that between 16,000 and 21,000 kilo tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions could be saved by 2050. The conference brought together Welsh and UK politicians with businesses and international companies to discuss the role of hydrogen in decarbonising sectors which currently face the biggest challenges to meeting their net zero commitments. A new plan to show how South Wales and Western England can make the UK a global leader in net zero technology was unveiled at a national conference in Newport today.
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