A number of upcoming funding competitions will seek to provide central government support for the development of net-zero and low carbon hydrogen technologies. The aim of the NZHF is to support the commercial deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production projects during the 2020s, ensuring the UK has a diverse and secure decarbonised energy system fit for meeting our increased ambition of up to 10GW low carbon hydrogen production by 2030.
The Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will fund the development and deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production to de-risk investment and reduce lifetime costs. Both strands will support multiple hydrogen production technologies.
Strand 1 will provide development expenditure (DEVEX) for front end engineering design (FEED) and post-FEED activities, aiming to build the pipeline of hydrogen production projects to measurably move these closer to deployment.
Strand 2 will provide capital expenditure (CAPEX) support for hydrogen production projects that do not require revenue support through the Hydrogen Business Model (HBM). Applicants for strand 2 must demonstrate how they will develop a credible project that will contribute to the at-scale production of low-carbon hydrogen by 2025.
Innovate UK will also host an online competition briefing webinar on behalf of BEIS on the 26th April 2022 to share details of strands 1 and 2.