Government to deliver transport and storage business models as soon as feasibly possible and take a pragmatic approach to support key 'no regrets' transport and storage projects. |
329. The development of the transport and storage network is vital for the growth of the UK hydrogen industry.
330. The Government's plan is to design new business models for hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure by 2025. According to several stakeholders, including the Energy Networks Association and SSE, investment decisions are likely to be needed sooner than 2025 to support hydrogen production projects and allow appropriate construction time for the scale of infrastructure required.264 Lead times for large scale transport and storage projects are long and there is therefore a risk of missing 2030 targets if investment decisions are not made soon.265
331. We recommend that government delivers the transport and storage business models as soon as feasibly possible.
332. In the interim, government must take a pragmatic approach to support key 'no regrets' transport and storage projects, taking steps to enable anticipatory spending and progress these as quickly as possible.
333. This could be supported via an extension of the existing natural gas RIIO framework, allowing optimisation at pace across methane and hydrogen network requirements ahead of a full framework being delivered.266