Hydrogen action plan

Part 4 – Scotland’s Hydrogen Actions

To ensure Scotland is in the best possible position to achieve our ambition of 5 GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030, we will focus actions to support meeting the following six key challenges:

Scale up hydrogen production in Scotland

Support the acceleration of Scottish renewable and low-carbon hydrogen projects and work with others to address potential barriers and constraints

Actions

• Launch – £90m Green Hydrogen Fund to support hydrogen pathfinder projects up to 2025/26.
• Ensure the regulatory, planning and consenting framework for renewable developments supports the scale-up of hydrogen at pace. This will be achieved whilst ensuring biodiversity is protected, restored and enhanced.
• Ensure our ambition for onshore and offshore wind development in Scotland supports our 5 GW by 2030 hydrogen ambition.
• Build an evidence base to understand the extent of domestic hydrogen demand.
• Support spatial planning in enabling the establishment of hydrogen projects.
• Support the Scottish CCUS Cluster to produce low-carbon hydrogen at scale.
• Ensure low-carbon hydrogen produced and used in Scotland is compatible with our climate ambitions.
• Not support new hydrogen production where CO₂ is unabated.

Facilitate the development of a domestic market

Stimulate demand in domestic use aligned to the scale up of local and regional hydrogen production

Actions

• Support development of Regional Hydrogen Hubs where production is coupled with multiple end-use applications thus helping to stimulate demand.
• Support Scottish industries to use hydrogen in their decarbonisation plans.
• Create an environment for the public and private sector to co-design technology and infrastructure pathways for the application of hydrogen in transport and deliver coincident benefits for jobs and supply chains.
• Help facilitate the rollout of the infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland.
• Work collaboratively with the transport sector to drive down the cost of hydrogen in transport applications and encourage uptake of both hydrogen and battery- electric vehicles.
• Make Scotland a global centre of expertise for innovation in hydrogen mobility technologies, collaborate with international partners and grow our hydrogen mobility manufacturing base.
• Maintain dialogue with SGN and National Grid to understand the role hydrogen can play in meeting our heat decarbonisation targets.
• Continue to press the UK Government to expedite progress on amending regulations and legislation to support hydrogen blending and accelerate decisions on the role of 100% hydrogen in the gas grid.

Maximise benefits of integrating hydrogen into the energy system

Create an integrated energy system, that includes hydrogen electrolysis, to enable better management of the supply and demand of energy

Actions

• Work with electricity and gas network operators to realise system benefits of hydrogen.
• Explore the use of hydrogen as an energy storage and balancing asset to the national electricity grid and the national gas grid.
• Ensure hydrogen development is planned where it can best be supported by available water resources.
• Support the establishment of hydrogen transportation infrastructure to support the export of hydrogen to the rest of the UK and Europe.

Strengthen research and innovation

Drive critical research and technological advancements and stimulate collaboration and knowledge sharing

Actions

• Support Scottish Hydrogen Supply Chain through the development of a Hydrogen Economy Cluster.
• Provide the supply chain with a clear line of sight to opportunities by creating a visible pipeline of projects.
• Work with industry and partners to establish the skills to underpin our energy transition.
• Continue to support a growing Scottish skills base in hydrogen for transport.

Establish and strengthen international partnerships and markets

Ensure Scotland is prepared to play a key role in meeting the growing demand for hydrogen from import countries in Europe

• Strengthen existing relationships and develop new bilateral partnerships.
• Develop a supportive framework to realise Scotland’s hydrogen export potential.
• Promote Scotland’s interests overseas and boost inbound and outbound trade and investment missions to secure opportunities for Scottish companies in the international hydrogen market and drive inward investment.
• Build the evidence base and support international cooperation on the development of infrastructure, transport routes and international supply chains.
• Engage with the UK Government to ensure Scotland’s export interests are embedded in policy, trade and regulatory planning.

Growing and transitioning Scotland’s supply chain and workforce

Support the growth and transition of companies and workforce skills development that will underpin our future hydrogen economy

• Drive technological progress and advance innovation in Scotland via our Hydrogen Innovation Scheme.
• In partnership with our enterprise agencies, establish a Scottish Hydrogen Innovation Network to provide support to the hydrogen research and innovation ecosystem in Scotland.
• Support multi-national collaboration on research and innovation challenges.
• Fund a Hydrogen Business Development service, delivered through the Energy Technology Partnership.

Action themes and key actions

4.1 Scaling up hydrogen production in Scotland

To realise our 5 GW by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045 ambitions, we will support the acceleration of the pipeline of Scottish renewable and low-carbon hydrogen projects and work with others to address potential barriers and constraints.

The Scottish Government Will:

1. Launch our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund (EETF) to support hydrogen pathfinder projects up to 2025/26.

• The £90m Green Hydrogen Fund will open in early 2023 with a call for proposals for renewable hydrogen projects.

2. Ensure the regulatory, planning and consenting framework for renewable developments supports the scale-up of hydrogen at pace. This will be achieved whilst ensuring biodiversity is protected, restored and enhanced.

• We will publish consenting guidance on the development of large-scale hydrogen production facilities in Scotland and its waters in 2023.
• We will work with the UK Government, regulatory authorities and industry to assess regulatory requirements and ensure the necessary action is taken to address any gaps and issues, working to ensure, where appropriate, any consenting framework for hydrogen production works in tandem with existing consenting frameworks for renewable electricity and maximises development opportunities where onshore renewable generation is constrained or consented and not grid connected.
• We will ensure the marine planning processes supports the delivery of hydrogen electrolysis at sea.

3. We expect the majority of our 5 GW ambition by 2030 to come from renewables. We will therefore ensure our ambition for onshore and offshore wind development in Scotland supports our 5 GW by 2030 hydrogen ambition.

• Scottish Government’s hydrogen and wider renewables policy development and implementation will be aligned.
• We will work with the electricity system operators to explore opportunities to use the value of constraints as a means of incentivising demand to accelerate hydrogen from constrained wind.
• Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas decarbonisation (INTOG) leasing round will enable offshore wind development to decarbonise oil and gas infrastructure operations, maximising further opportunities for the Scottish economy through the hydrogen supply chain and uses.
• We will progress the Iterative Plan Review for the Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy.

4. Build an evidence base to understand the extent of domestic hydrogen demand.

• We will undertake a research programme to build the evidence base to help develop our understanding of hydrogen demand across sectors, to inform the hierarchy of use and future devolved policy decisions.

5. Support spatial planning in enabling the establishment of hydrogen projects.

• The National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) will enable the infrastructure we will need to support the net zero transition, including renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies, such as hydrogen developments. Once approved and adopted, NPF4 will be a long-term plan looking to 2045 that will guide spatial development, set out national planning policies, designate national developments and highlight regional spatial priorities, and so will influence planning decisions, including for hydrogen developments, across Scotland.

  6. Support the Scottish CCUS Cluster to produce low-carbon hydrogen at scale.

  • We continue to support the Scottish CCUS Cluster, which will enable carbon capture, utilisation and storage across a diverse set of emitters, thus enabling low and ultimately negative-carbon hydrogen production in Scotland. £80m of the £180m Emerging Energy Technologies Fund has been identified to support the development of CCUS and CCS-enabled negative emissions technologies in Scotland.

  7. Ensure low-carbon hydrogen produced and used in Scotland is compatible with our climate ambitions.

  • We will continue to align with the UK Government in the development of a Low-Carbon Hydrogen Standard (LCHS) in our funding for low-carbon hydrogen projects. The LCHS provides a detailed methodology for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with low-carbon hydrogen production, requiring hydrogen producers to meet a GHG emission intensity of 20g CO₂e/MJLHV of produced hydrogen or less for the hydrogen to be considered low-carbon.
  • Low-carbon hydrogen production should achieve the highest technically possible emissions capture rates. We will ensure that publicly funded support for low-carbon hydrogen produced in Scotland meets the LCHS.

  8. Not support new hydrogen production where CO₂ is unabated.

  • We encourage industry to transition as quickly as possible away from production and use of unabated hydrogen and achieve the lowest possible emissions rates as part of their decarbonisation planning. We will not support via Scottish Government funding the development of new, industrial development where carbon emissions are unabated. There is no expectation of additional grey hydrogen production, as any such development will require to demonstrate the implementation of a decarbonisation strategy at point of operation. This could include fuel switching, carbon capture, and energy efficiency and must be in line with our statutory climate change targets. This includes new industrial sites for the primary purpose of producing hydrogen where CO₂ is unabated.

  4.2 Facilitating the development of a domestic market

  To establish a strong hydrogen economy in Scotland that can support the growing global market, a strong, sustainable domestic market must also be established. This will require immediate actions to accelerate demand and to scale up local and regional hydrogen production as well as a strategic focus on growth areas such as industry and transport to ensure technological progress, development of economies of scale and reduction of the cost of hydrogen.

  The Scottish Government Will:

  9. Support the development of Regional Hydrogen Hubs where production is coupled with multiple end-use applications thus helping to stimulate demand.

  • The EETF will support the development stages of regional hydrogen hubs where production, storage and distribution with multiple end-use applications will help to aggregate demand and improve the economic benefit of the projects.

  10. Support Scottish industries to use hydrogen in their decarbonisation plans.

  • Supporting the deployment of, or studies into, energy efficiency or deeper decarbonisation projects including fuel switching to renewable or low-carbon hydrogen via the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund.
  • We will facilitate ‘Net Zero Transition Manager’ roles, embedded within high-emitting manufacturing sites, to identify and progress decarbonisation opportunities, including low-carbon hydrogen, to contribute to the long-term sustainability of industrial businesses. We will act on the recommendations of the Scottish Net Zero Roadmap.
  • Through the Grangemouth Future Industry Board, we will focus efforts to support the development of the hydrogen economy at Grangemouth. We will map potential local hydrogen users to understand how best to support the development of hydrogen applications in Scotland’s major industrial region.

  11. Create an environment for the public and private sector to co-design technology and infrastructure pathways for the application of hydrogen in transport, and deliver coincident benefits for jobs and supply chains.

  • We are supporting the work of Scotland’s Hydrogen Accelerator.
  • We will ensure that publically funded hydrogen for transport demonstration projects share what they have learnt and encourage the private sector to do the same.
  • As part of the co-design process for the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, we will work with stakeholders to identify any barriers to hydrogen’s use in transport and the actions needed. This will include considering the regulatory, commercial and practical barriers, as well as user confidence and skills.

  12. Help facilitate the rollout of the infrastructure needed for hydrogen vehicles to operate in Scotland.

  • With our partners in the MultHyFuel project, we will produce guidance for organisations looking to put in hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. This will include examples of risk assessments and of safe designs for hydrogen refuelling stations in a multi-fuel context. It will include layout recommendations and define the hazardous area around the H2 dispenser.
  • We will carry-out a multi-modal hydrogen refuelling feasibility study, which will cover business cases and technical requirements.

  13. Work collaboratively with the transport sector to drive down the cost of hydrogen in transport applications and encourage uptake of both hydrogen and battery-electric vehicles.

  • We will continue our work with public and private sector bodies on enhancing the role of fleet investments as enablers of technology deployment, including hydrogen.

  14. Make Scotland a global centre of expertise for innovation in hydrogen mobility technologies, collaborate with international partners and grow our hydrogen mobility manufacturing base.

  • Building on the findings of the Industry Advisory Group, we will continue to develop Scotland’s ecosystem for innovation in hydrogen technology, particularly in niche and heavy-duty vehicles.
  • We are addressing barriers to the growth of a competitive transport hydrogen technology supply chain in Scotland. Including through our Zero Emission Mobility Innovation Fund, delivered in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, to accelerate the manufacturing and deployment of heavy duty zero‑emission vehicles, and through our Zero Emission Mobility Academic Network which supports links between academia and industry to support the development of innovative zero emission technologies.

  15. Maintain dialogue with SGN and National Grid Gas Transmission to understand the role hydrogen can play in meeting our heat decarbonisation targets.

  • We have invested £6.9m in the H100 Fife project and will continue to support the development of evidence on the potential role of hydrogen in decarbonising heat including the potential expansion phases of the H100 Fife project.
  • We will support initial action by SGN on their pathway to converting large segments of their network to 100% hydrogen, wherever those actions are commensurate with keeping options open and limiting consumer costs.
  • Ahead of UK Government decisions on the future of the gas grid, we will undertake a programme of work to identify regions and areas such as rural island areas, SIUs and locations adjacent to hydrogen hubs, that are most likely to have access to hydrogen in the future, and consider high-potential areas for the use of hydrogen for heat in Scotland.
  • We will work with the Gas Network Operators and the UK Government to explore opportunities for increasing the blend of up to 20% hydrogen in the existing gas network.
  • We will identify ways to support projects which seek to demonstrate renewable hydrogen production and blending in the gas network.

  16. We will continue to press the UK Government to expedite progress on amending regulations and legislation to support hydrogen blending and accelerate decisions on the role of 100% hydrogen in the gas grid.

  • Alongside other action in reserved areas to support delivery of our Heat in Buildings Strategy, we will urge the UK Government to accelerate decisions on the role of hydrogen in the gas grid.
  • We will continue to press the UK Government to progress the consultation on enabling and requiring hydrogen-ready boilers. The Scottish Government is seeking to commission independent laboratory testing of hydrogen boilers to determine what – if any – greenhouse gas emissions are produced from the combustion of 100% pure hydrogen (under normal operating conditions). Once the testing has concluded, in early 2023, we will set out our position on the use of 100% hydrogen for space and hot water heating in new buildings.

  4.3 Maximising the benefits of integrating hydrogen into our energy system

  An integrated energy system, that includes hydrogen electrolysis, can allow better management of the supply and demand of energy. Renewable hydrogen production can play a critical role in supporting the realisation of Scotland’s ambitions for 8-12 GW onshore wind and 8-11 GW of offshore wind by 2030. Converting renewable power into hydrogen can provide developers with new routes to market and may change the investment proposition for new and existing renewables generation. Collaborative action in the short term will explore the optimal integration of hydrogen technology into our energy system as an energy store and to provide flexibility, resilience and balancing to the wider energy system.

  The Scottish Government Will:

  17. Work with electricity and gas network operators to realise system benefits of hydrogen.

  • In partnership with Scotland’s electricity and gas network operators, we will identify the integration challenges and service opportunities which hydrogen production presents within our power and gas grid networks. This will include exploring the role of hydrogen as a storage asset for electricity network grids.
  • We will work with UK Government, Ofgem and the energy network sector to ensure that regulation and market structure support and reward hydrogen projects for the full range of benefits they deliver to the wider energy system.
  • We will evaluate the most advantageous locations for hydrogen electrolysis to reduce electricity constraints and deliver maximum value. A study on the role that hydrogen can play to alleviate curtailment was commissioned through ClimateXChange and is due to be published in December 2022.

  18. Explore the use of hydrogen as an energy storage and balancing asset to the national electricity grid and the national gas grid including the repurposing of existing national grid pipelines for hydrogen use, transportation and storage.

  • Reflecting the critical role that hydrogen can play as a low-carbon energy source providing flexibility, resilience and balancing to the wider energy system. We will develop a vision for the role of hydrogen storage as an integrated part of the hydrogen and wider energy systems.
  • To take this forward we are undertaking a detailed study to determine the role that hydrogen can play as an energy storage solution.
  • We are also continuing to work with SGN and the University of Edinburgh to explore the options for the geological storage of hydrogen, through the HyStorPor project.

  19. Ensure hydrogen development is planned where it can be best supported by available water resources.

  • Our Enterprise Agencies have completed the Production Site Requirements Report^[31] that set out site requirements for large-scale renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production plants. Building on the production site requirements report, we will work with Scottish Water and industry to understand and map how water resources and infrastructure are distributed within Scotland and water availability for hydrogen production as part of our wider GIS-mapping activities.

  20. Support the establishment of hydrogen transportation infrastructure to support export of hydrogen to the rest of the UK and Europe.

  • We will fund the Net Zero Technology Centre Transition Programme and the Hydrogen Backbone Link project to position Scotland within developing pan-European hydrogen infrastructure including export capability to supply hydrogen to Europe as part of an extensive hydrogen transport and distribution system. The project will include concept studies and technology development of new pipelines and the re-purposing and optimisation of existing onshore and offshore pipelines. Phase 1 is complete. Under Phase 2 the Net Zero Technology Centre have been awarded £2.12M from the Just Transition Fund to support the delivery of its Hydrogen Offshore Production Project (HOP2). HOP2 aims to repurpose existing gas assets for offshore hydrogen production scaled 500 MW to 1 GW.

  4.4 Enabling the growth and transition of Scotland’s supply chain and workforce

  Scotland’s existing oil and gas and energy supply chains can transfer many of the critical engineering and management skills important to establishing the stable and secure production of affordable large-scale hydrogen. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the growth and transition of companies and workforce skills development that will underpin our future hydrogen economy.

  Our Enterprise Agencies, Skills Agencies, Scottish Water, Transport Scotland, Scottish Development International and other government and public bodies, including Marine Scotland and Crown Estate Scotland, are working collaboratively to drive the hydrogen economy agenda forward and respond to opportunities as they arise.

  Scottish Enterprise has adopted hydrogen as one of its eight National Programmes in order to provide a strong focus on identifying and maximising opportunity for economic benefit and assist our policy ambitions for this growing sector.

  The Scottish Government Will:

  21. Through our Enterprise Agencies activity build support for the Scottish Hydrogen Supply Chain through the development of a Hydrogen Economy Cluster.

  • The Hydrogen Economy Cluster will raise awareness of the opportunities in the hydrogen economy, support a Team Scotland approach and provide practical steps to help companies realise opportunities in hydrogen and associated low-carbon markets. The cluster will be pan-Scotland and will play a key role in helping the energy and oil and gas supply chain move into hydrogen production, distribution and/or key areas of hydrogen demand such as transport and low-carbon heat.

  22. Provide the supply chain with a clear line of sight to opportunities by creating a visible pipeline of projects.

  • We have completed and published our Assessment of Electrolysers^[32] report. This was an important first step in understanding the hydrogen value chain in Scotland and we will continue to encourage supply chain engagement throughout Scotland and attract companies and potential OEMs.
  • In September 2022, the Scottish Government held a supply chain event that brought together key players and stakeholders from across industry, government and academia to explore and discuss Scotland’s developing capabilities in the sector, the emerging opportunities and the vision for the future.
  • Together with our Enterprise Agencies, trade associations and other relevant stakeholders we will explore the requirement for an online tool to ensure that companies have clear visibility and access to information about upcoming hydrogen projects in order to maximise the potential for Scottish content.
  • We will establish a Hydrogen Forum between industry and government to help drive forward the hydrogen economy in Scotland collaboratively, ensure Scottish Government policy and action remains responsive to technological and market developments and maximise the decarbonisation and economic benefit for businesses and communities.
  • We will publish an interactive GIS hydrogen Mapping Tool which maps and charts all hydrogen activity and projects in Scotland.

  23. Work with industry and partners to establish the skills to underpin our energy transition.

  • We have commissioned, through ClimateXChange and in consultation with Skills Development Scotland, a piece of work to map out the current and forecasted hydrogen skills landscape to
  • build an evidence base regarding current hydrogen skills and key skill shortages.
  • This is part of a wider piece of work to ensure wider investment in skills and competitive opportunities for Scotland. This will ensure investment in skills, including work-based learning, further and higher education, and upskilling and reskilling, is fully aligned with our economic ambitions for a net zero transition, through our forthcoming Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan refresh.
  • We will continue to work with industry to assess the workforce demand for a hydrogen economy, including assessing areas of transferability in existing offshore and onshore energy production. We will ensure future skills actions and provision to 2030 is informed by this work and training programs are tailored to meet the demand for new specialist skills, promoting opportunities for STEM students, graduates and hydrogen engineers.
  • OPITO, the global safety and skills organisation for the energy industry, has been awarded £5m from the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund to support the delivery of an Energy Skills Passport. This will work to create a long term ‘skills guarantee’ for workers in carbon-intensive sectors and develop the specialist skills and workforce required to underpin the hydrogen economy.

  24. We will continue to support a growing Scottish skills base in hydrogen for transport.

  • We will continue to explore the skills gaps for hydrogen transport applications in delivering the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan.
  • We will continue to work with the Energy Skills Partnership on the Transport Hydrogen Skills Development Project. Building on the findings of the 2021 Transport Scotland HDV Skills Baselining Report, this project will support improved Scottish capabilities in Scottish colleges to deliver hydrogen for transport training for both technicians and business leaders and deliver hydrogen for transport education material for upper primary and secondary school pupils, as well as young adults.

  Case study: Hydrasun – Based in Aberdeen, Hydrasun is a market leader in the provision of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions to the oil and gas, energy, industrial and marine industries worldwide. Over the last six years, Hydrasun has successfully completed over 20 projects within the hydrogen market in the UK and Europe across the mobility, power and industrial sectors. The company has diversified their range of products and services to position themselves as a supply chain and systems integrator in the emerging hydrogen markets.

  Hydrasun has also established a Hydrogen Skills Academy. The Academy delivers an industry-first suite of training and competency development programmes that will enable trained and skilled personnel to install, commission, maintain and operate hydrogen systems.

  4.5 Establishing and strengthening international partnerships and markets

  Scotland is committed to working collaboratively with international partners to develop the global hydrogen economy more quickly. We will continue to support Scottish companies to participate in the global hydrogen supply chain, work with our international partners to share expertise and develop the sector more quickly, and to ensure Scotland is ready to play a key role in meeting the growing demand for hydrogen from import countries in Europe.

  The Scottish Government Will:

  25. Strengthen existing relationships and develop new bilateral partnerships.

  • We will strengthen our existing international relationships and look to develop new collaborations on renewable hydrogen development with partner countries. We have, in 2021/22 secured several MOUs with partner countries to build hydrogen markets and our shared hydrogen economy, including agreements with Denmark, Hamburg, Bavaria, Occitania, and North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • As part of the Net Zero Futures Forum, Scotland will co-lead a taskforce with South Australia that brings together Under2 Coalition governments to collaborate and share knowledge on the opportunities and challenges of developing the international hydrogen economy.

  26. Develop a supportive framework to realise Scotland’s hydrogen export potential.

  • We will work with the UK Government, industry and partners to develop Scotland’s Hydrogen Sector Export Plan (HSEP) to be published in 2023.

  27. Work with our overseas offices and Scottish Development International to promote Scotland’s interests overseas and boost inbound and outbound trade and investment missions to secure opportunities for Scottish companies in the international hydrogen market and drive inward investment.

  • Working through our global network of trade and investment offices, we will promote plans for the export of hydrogen as well as international trade opportunities for Scottish hydrogen companies. This includes inbound delegations, inviting influencers, sectoral representatives and companies to engage with the sector first-hand. We will also engage with national sectoral organisations, with Scotland’s partner hydrogen states, with key conference platforms and business forums, and with individual companies, to promote Scottish expertise and capacity.
  • In September 2022, we published the Scottish Hydrogen Investment Proposition, which set out the benefits of investing and locating in Scotland and the opportunities within the hydrogen sector for both manufacture and production.
  • This written proposition will be followed by a suite of digital assets to showcase Scotland’s renewable and low-carbon hydrogen opportunities and strategic investment sites.

  28. Build the evidence base and support international cooperation on the development of infrastructure, transport routes and international supply chains.

  • In addition to funding provided to NZTC to assess Scotland’s capability to link to the European Hydrogen Backbone initiative [see Action 20] we support collaboration between Scottish ports and key ports in northern Europe, in order to develop the relationships and the necessary and compatible export/import infrastructure. For example, we will support NZTC and a consortium of partners on phase two of the Marine Transport of Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) project, which will carry out the feasibility assessment for a pilot trial for the shipment of LOHC from Scotland to the northern European mainland.
  • We have also undertaken a review of ports and terminal infrastructure preparedness for hydrogen export. This is detailed in the first phase of the production sites requirement report, which has now been completed.
  • Our Enterprise Agencies supported the Scot2Ger project. A summary report on the findings of the Scot2Ger pre-feasibility study was published by Scottish Enterprise in June 2022 (See Part 3). The study confirmed the capability of Scotland to supply renewable hydrogen and derivatives to Germany, as well as the feasibility of building a supply chain. The study also highlighted that demand for hydrogen in Germany is immediate and increasing rapidly.

  29. Engage with the UK Government to ensure Scotland’s hydrogen interests are embedded in its domestic and international policy, trade and regulatory planning.

  • We will urge the UK Government to ensure that regulations do not act as a barrier to trade and investment, and to collaborate internationally to ensure standards developed for hydrogen in the UK align with international frameworks to allow a buoyant export market to be established.

  4.6 Strengthening research and innovation

  Scotland already benefits from a strong hydrogen research and innovation landscape with many organisations and institutes working across different hydrogen technologies. We will continue to support these existing assets to drive critical research and technological advancements and stimulate collaboration and knowledge sharing.

  The Scottish Government Will:

  30. Drive technological progress and advance innovation in Scotland via our Hydrogen Innovation Scheme.

  • In June 2022, we launched the £10m Hydrogen Innovation Scheme, the first tranche of the Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, to support innovation in hydrogen production, storage and distribution technology. This funding aims to drive advancements in hydrogen technology to improve the cost-competitiveness of renewable hydrogen and to support the development of Scotland’s world class test and demonstration facilities.

  31. In partnership with our Enterprise Agencies, establish a Scottish Hydrogen Innovation Network to provide support to the growing hydrogen research and innovation ecosystem in Scotland.

  • The Scottish Hydrogen Innovation Network will provide an overarching framework for Scotland’s growing portfolio of hydrogen innovation assets. This will enable increased collaboration between those assets to increase the impact of their work and avoid duplication of effort while also ensuring that Scotland’s company base is aware of the innovation capability that exists in Scotland and enable them to engage with the suite of facilities effectively to commercialise new products and services to accelerate technology deployment and lower production costs. The network will also help to enhance Scotland’s international hydrogen innovation reputation by showcasing all that we have to offer.

  32. Support multi-national collaboration on research and innovation challenges.

  • In 2021 we launched the Scotland-Germany Hydrogen Research Scheme, through the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which supports four collaborative projects between research institutes in Scotland and Germany.
  • We will also work with the UK Government to support the success of the Mission Innovation Clean Hydrogen Mission and participate in Hydrogen Europe’s Regional Pillar.
  • We will support Scottish participation in applications for EU funding for innovation through the Clean Energy Transition Partnership and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, building on significant Scottish successes in previous EU hydrogen funding programmes.
  • Scotland will co-lead workstreams of the Vanguard Initiative’s new Hydrogen Pilot alongside other European regions. This cooperation forum will help grow the European network of SME’s and innovation assets in hydrogen, focusing on specialised manufacturing.

  33. Fund a Hydrogen Business Development service, delivered through the Energy Technology Partnership, to accelerate knowledge exchange between academia and enterprises to stimulate innovation in the hydrogen sector.

  • We are continuing to work with the Energy Technology Partnership in support of their Hydrogen Theme. This includes the funding of a Hydrogen Business Development Manager, now in operation. The Hydrogen Business Development Manager facilitates pooling of academic knowledge and expertise to enable co-ordinated research activities, leading to new areas of innovation. The Hydrogen Business Development Service facilitates collaboration between industry and the academic research community, through events, forums and a £100k engagement fund.
  • ETP’s Hydrogen Industry Engagement Funding Call launched in June 2022 to support innovative SME projects that are aimed at renewable and low-carbon hydrogen storage, products, processes, and systems.