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The United Kingdom government has published Tuesday a new strategy dedicated to increasing the country’s hydrogen economy. The newly released strategy is set to provide more than 100,000 jobs and will be worth more around $17.88 billion by the mid of this century. 

Kwasi Kwarteng, the U.K.’s business, and energy secretary said in the strategy that the country’s government has worked with the industry to provide 5 gigawatts of “low carbon hydrogen production capacity” by 2030 and which will be used across the U.K.’s economy. 

 “This could produce hydrogen equivalent to the amount of gas consumed by over 3 million households in the UK each year,” Kwarteng said.

Kwarteng explained that it could be deployed in the upcoming years adding that: “This new, low carbon hydrogen could help provide cleaner energy to power our economy and our everyday lives — from cookers to distilleries, film shoots to power plants, waste trucks to steel production, and 40-tonne diggers to the heat in our homes.”

The government added that the use for heating and stating is going be “to be relatively low” by 2030.

The strategy’s publication has had an additional statement that explained that the authorities said that by the year 2050, 20% to 35% of the U.K.’s energy consumption could be hydrogen-based. In the mid-term, the U.K.’s hydrogen economy could add $5 billion of investment and provide more than 9,000 jobs by the year 2030, according to the government. 

The U.K. is going green

Frank Gordon, director of policy at the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology, said it provided “welcome clarity.”

“The REA urged the government to provide certainty for investors, deliver a technology-neutral approach and highlight the range of low carbon pathways,” Gordon added.

“The Hydrogen Strategy starts to answer those calls and offers a positive vision for the role of hydrogen in meeting the UK’s net-zero ambitions.”

On the other hand, Dan McGrail, CEO of the trade association RenewableUK, called for more when it came to green hydrogen. “While we welcome positive steps like the new Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, overall the strategy doesn’t focus nearly enough on developing the UK’s world-leading green hydrogen industry,” he said.

“In the year when the UK is hosting the biggest climate change summit for years, we fear that international investors in renewable hydrogen may compare this strategy to those of other countries and vote with their feet. The Government must use the current consultation period to amend its plans and set out a clear ambition for green hydrogen