Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what effect the inaugural meeting of the Hydrogen Advisory Council on 20 July 2020 has had on his Department’s Clean Maritime Plan.

Government is committed to developing hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier. The Hydrogen Advisory Council was established in July 2020 to inform the development of a hydrogen strategy, to be published early in 2021, and formalise engagement with industry. The Clean Maritime Plan was published in 2019, prior to the launch of the Hydrogen Advisory Council, but recognised the key role hydrogen may have to play in the decarbonisation of the maritime sector. Further detail on the Government’s policies on maritime decarbonisation will be set out in the forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan.