Hydrogen Supply Chains
Debate between Tom Collins and Luke Myer(3 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Luke Myer
I can only speak to the public shift we saw in our region. The public are fully behind projects such as hydrogen fuels for public transport, which we are seeing trials of in Teesside. But, for whatever reason, there was much more reluctance over the Redcar trial, and it was not without significant investment in educating people on the benefits.
Tom Collins
Once again, I intervene only because I have painful personal experience of this situation. The Redcar trial was subject to a distinct, explicit and targeted campaign seeking to bring about its failure. It was extremely frustrating to experience, as the trial was testing both electrification of heat and conversion to 100% hydrogen—two key pathways for decarbonising heat that need to be validated. It was very frustrating to see that, and it was the result of a targeted campaign, but we have also seen that where the engineering is well explained and consumers are able to understand that this is just a different gas—in fact, a gas that already circulated in UK gas pipes prior to the conversion of the 1960s—these things can be done successfully. It is therefore important that we show positive ambition for hydrogen and help the public to feel secure about a problem where the engineering has been solved.
Luke Myer
Having tried to make many of the points that my hon. Friend made during that experience, I am more sceptical about whether that shift will happen quickly or easily. There is certainly huge potential for industrial use and for transport.
In any case, our region helped to power Britain’s industrial revolution, and we can do the same today through the age of clean energy. Hydrogen can anchor a new era of good jobs and pride in our communities if we have the ambition to make it work for working people.