The Problem with the UK Hydrogen CFD

 The principle of a Contract-for-Difference or CFD is to provide pricing stability (or at least visibility) on the hydrogen being produced and sold. The government is typically the counterparty on CFDs.The producer of the electricity or hydrogen negotiates and agrees a "strike price" with the government under the CFD. When the producer sells hydrogen below this agreed strike price, the government will top it up to the strike price. Conversely...

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EU (and UK) faces headwinds on higher hanging decarbonisation fruits

EU is ontrack to fully decarbonise power by 2050The EU is making good progress and remains the leader on decarbonisation. Focus over the past decade has been on renewable power installation which has been a massive success - only 61% of EU electricity was from renewable sources in 2022 with only 39% from fossil fuels. Power generation accounted for c.25% of emissions in 2021. With continued roll-out of renewables, which is now cost competitive with...

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Chart of the week: Bilateral Hydrogen Trade Agreements and MOUs

 Source: IRENA, as of November 2...

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SSE and Equinor developing plans for hydrogen storage in West Yorkshire

 SSE Thermal and Equinor are developing plans for one of the world’s largest hydrogen storage facilities at their existing Aldbrough site on the East Yorkshire coast. The facility could be storing low-carbon hydrogen as early as 2028.The existing Aldbrough Gas Storage facility, which was commissioned in 2011, is co-owned by SSE Thermal and Equinor, and consists of nine underground salt caverns, each roughly the size of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upgrading the site to store hydrogen would involve converting the existing caverns or creating new purpose-built...

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