Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the role of nuclear energy in hydrogen production through electrolysis of steam; and if he will make a statement.

The Government believes that net zero needs nuclear. Nuclear could have a role in ‘beyond the grid’ applications and welcomes the nuclear industry’s ambition to support low-carbon hydrogen production. As part of the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply Competition in 2019, BEIS funded the ‘Hydrogen to Heysham’ feasibility study, which showed that current nuclear technologies are technically capable of producing low-carbon hydrogen. BEIS is funding a follow-up innovation programme, Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2, and winners will be announced in early 2022.