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Together we can turn-up Britain’s hydrogen heating, gas industry tells Prime Minister

18 December 2020

 

Any new boiler installed in Britain’s homes should be hydrogen-ready from 2025, a coalition of gas boiler manufacturers and grid operators has told the Prime Minister today.

In an open letter to the PM, leading gas boiler manufacturers Baxi Heating and Worcester Bosch have joined forces with all five of Britain’s gas grid operators to call for hydrogen-ready boilers to be mandated from four years’ time, in-line with the ambition the Prime Minister set out in his recent Ten Point Plan For A Green Industrial Revolution announcement.

Britain’s household carbon emissions need to drop by 95% between now and 2050. The ground-breaking 2020 Climate Assembly UK found that 94% of assembly members ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ that people in different parts of the country should be offered different solutions to zero carbon heating.

The companies argue the move is necessary to ensure that Britain’s homes have a choice of different types of low carbon heating appliances in the future, such as hydrogen-ready boilers, heat pumps or innovative hybrid technologies bringing the two technologies together. That choice is necessary to maintain public support for reducing emissions and to ensure different types of technologies can be installed in different types of homes, they argue.

Requiring new household boilers to be hydrogen-ready will “send a clear signal to boiler manufacturers to build on their existing work in this area, to invest in developing the widest possible range of hydrogen-ready products for consumers to choose from”, the group says.

Commenting, Karen Boswell OBE, Managing Director UK & Ireland of Baxi Heating UK says:

“Hydrogen has an important role to play in the net zero challenge and can offer consumers a relatively low disruption option for decarbonising heat. A mandate for hydrogen ready boilers represents an effective pragmatic step which would help to prepare households, simplifying a future changeover.”

Carl Arntzen, CEO of Worcester Bosch, adds:

“The UK is leading the world in its drive towards net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and although 2050 may seem a long way off, action needs to be taken now.

“Hydrogen can help to reduce carbon emissions significantly - particularly in the way that we heat our homes and power our heavy goods transport. With the foundation of solid Government backing, hydrogen will be a ready-to-go solution in the near future and therefore will have a strong impact in the fight against climate change. By mandating hydrogen ready boilers for our homes from 2025, it demonstrates the role that technology can and should play in finding practical solutions to the challenges that we face.” 

Mike Foster, Chief Executive, Energy & Utilities Alliance, representing the full range of household appliance manufacturers, also says:

“Using our existing world-class gas network to deliver low carbon gas will enable the least-disruptive heating solution to the consumer in the Red Wall and beyond. British ingenuity has developed the hydrogen-ready gas boiler, the Government simply has to fire the starting gun and the race to decarbonise the vast majority of homes with hydrogen will be won.”

David Smith, Chief Executive, Energy Networks Association, says:

“We all need to reduce carbon emissions from our homes, to play our part in addressing climate change. People must be able to choose the technology that's right for them and the properties they live in, otherwise all the other progress we’ve made risks being undone. We need hydrogen-ready boilers, heat-pumps and any other technology that can help deliver that.”

Press contacts for journalists

Peter Kocen

Senior Press and Public Affairs Manager

+44 (0)7792 220 974

peter.kocen@energynetworks.org

ENA Press Office

press@energynetworks.org

 

Downloads

Letter from gas industry to Prime Minister about H2-ready boilers

Download

Notes to editor

Read more on hydrogen boilers from Worcester Bosch.

Photo by Dan LeFebvre on Unsplash

About Energy Networks Association

Energy Networks Association (ENA) is the industry body representing the electricity wires, gas pipes and energy system in the UK and Ireland.

ENA helps its members meet the challenge of delivering electricity and gas to communities across the UK and Ireland safely, sustainably and reliably.

Its members include every major electricity and gas network operator in the UK and Ireland, independent operators, National Grid ESO which operates the electricity system in Great Britain and National Gas which operates the gas system in Great Britain. Its affiliate membership also includes companies with an interest in energy, including Heathrow Airport and Network Rail.

What are energy network operators?

Energy network operators manage and maintain the wires, pipes and other infrastructure which delivers electricity and gas to your home, business and community. They are private companies which are regulated by Ofgem and employ around 40,000 people in Great Britain.

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