Voter Identification
Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness Meacher(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
It is the turn of the Liberal Democrat Front Bench.
Nuclear Energy: Hydrogen Production Targets
Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness Meacher
Baroness Meacher (CB)
My Lords, the Government have pledged to increase low-carbon hydrogen production capacity to five gigawatts by 2030. Have the necessary investment commitments been made to achieve that objective, and what role will hydrogen produced through nuclear energy play in helping to hit that target?
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
Investment was a point made very powerfully by Bill Gates in his new book. We recognise the importance of ambition and a supportive policy framework in building investor confidence in the development of low-carbon technologies in the UK. The Government’s dedicated hydrogen strategy, which will be published in the second quarter of this year, will have more detail on how we work with industry to meet the 2030 ambition, but it will also incorporate a “minded to” paper—that is Civil Service speak—on ways that we could finance these large projects.
Hydrogen Sector
Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness Meacher
Baroness Meacher
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to support private investment in the hydrogen sector in the United Kingdom.
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
My Lords, we have announced that, working with industry, the Government are aiming for 5 gigawatts of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity in the UK by 2030—a clear signal of intent. We will support this through a whole range of measures seeking to stimulate private investment, including a £240 million net zero hydrogen fund and provision of a revenue mechanism to be delivered by hydrogen business models on which we will bring forward details early next year.
Baroness Meacher (CB)
My Lords, I had the great pleasure of coming to Parliament this morning in very beautiful, absolutely silent hydrogen-powered car. I assure noble Lords that the hydrogen economy is well and truly with us. UK-made, world-first hydrogen boilers, fuel cells, buses, planes, ships and trains all exist—and, importantly, they are safe—and are in use and supporting UK jobs. With hydrogen as point 2 in the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan, can the Minister say a bit more about what action the Government are taking now to bring forward policies to unlock the £3 billion of shovel-ready private investment for UK hydrogen projects?
Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)
The noble Baroness is right to point out the positive moves that the whole country, the industry and the Government are making in this area. The UK is ideally positioned to benefit from the potential of low-carbon hydrogen, which could unlock up to 100,000 domestic and export jobs by 2050. We have set out a clear ambition and are developing a strong policy package to support it, including the £240 million that I have mentioned, which will speed up deployment of low-carbon production as well as hydrogen business models and the revenue mechanism behind them. It is these initiatives that will stimulate the billions of pounds of private investment that the noble Baroness referred to.