Government’s £500m hydrogen investment set to create thousands of jobs

The Government has confirmed over £500m will be spent on hydrogen infrastructure, which is expected to create thousands of clean energy jobs in industrial regions across Britain. 

The funding will go towards building the UK’s first regional hydrogen transport and storage network, linking hydrogen producers with end users in sectors including power stations and heavy industry.

This investment is expected to generate skilled roles in regions such as Merseyside, Teesside and the Humber, as well as in the supply chain. 

It forms part of ongoing work to reduce reliance on international fossil fuels and support manufacturing sectors like iron, steel, glass, chemicals and ceramics.

The announcement followed confirmation that thousands of new jobs are also being created across the country, including 10,000 at Sizewell C in Suffolk, jobs for a new fusion reactor in Nottinghamshire, up to 3,000 roles through the small modular reactor programme, and funding for the Acorn project in Scotland and the Viking project in the Humber. 

This is on top of 4,000 jobs already due to be created in CCUS projects in the North West and Teesside.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “We are investing over half a billion pounds in our industrial heartlands to deliver jobs and energy security for Britain. 

“By building hydrogen networks, we are securing homegrown energy that will power British industry for generations to come.