APPG on Hydrogen | Hydrogen in Heavy Industry

Thwarted today in my attempt to meet with the excellent Jacob Young MP following two years of engagement of the All Party Parliamentary Group with unfailing cheerfulness ensuring participation be so enjoyable.

It was ironic that global warming with exhortations not to travel should postpone this ambition and, however great the charms of Committee Room G in the Upper House, will await cooler times. Others at today’s session expressed similar sentiments.

Parliament, like so may other institutions, has become quite adept during lockdown in making participation possible through their digital offer and this allowed today’s session to  focus on the use of hydrogen in heavy industry, the exploring of  how hydrogen can be used in cleaning steel production, and the role its high calorific value, good thermal conductivity and high reaction rate can have in decarbonising this industry.

Having delivered training stakeholders on steel this year its clearly a topic in demand. Last week’s publication:  Net-zero-steel-vision-future-uk-steel-production encompassed over  170 mentions of hydrogen within the report which states that the The Grand Challenge Steel enables everything from our buildings, transport, utilities, communication systems to our consumer products.

So, today it was a particularly apt session with a strong Teesside presence and once again most ably chaired by the APPG’s Chair Jacob Young MP, who reference his own Petrochemical background and use of hydrogen furnaces with the following speakers making incisive contributions :

 Chris McDonald, Chief Executive Officer, Materials Processing Institute

Spoke around the doubling of global infrastructure in next 15 years with not enough scrap to go around and price rises inevitable - with political consequence

Penalising the fossil emissions with carbon border adjustments so bring all prices to level with new steel but politically difficult. Could be compared to post war reconstruction for generational shift and wondered whether border adjustments may offer a level playing field as other governments support green steel. He believed green steel would win out as long term economics kick in.

·        Matthew Day, Leader of EDF Renewables’ Strategy and Hydrogen Team

Looking at that backdrop Matthew clearly shares my own penchant for offshore wind, spoke about he UK's astonishing offshore wind cost reductions and capacity especially with floating wind costs falling and that we could be a long term green exporter.

A lively question and answer session included Carbon taxes were discussed as the route to market was analysed

OSW falling cost around £35 per MWh in recent weeks

1. Teesside Metro gained a mention for for decarbonisation via hydrogen the chat
2. Europeans moving towards green which is direction of travel and also heading for markets where the supply chain gets a premium. Chris McDonald expects to see green hydrogen winning (over blue) on the economics
3. Penalising the fossil emissions with carbon border adjustments so bring all prices to level with new steel but politically difficult.  The situation could be compared to post war reconstruction for generational shift.
4. Could the UK government commit to green steel? possibly we heard but that has not been a great success in the past and it maybe more effective to work on frameworks and certainty; possibly with incentives

The APPG takes a well earned rest and I look forwards to updating you when engagement recommences in September