NEWS EXTRA
investigating purity levels and adding artificial colours and smells for safety reasons. On purity, the question is whether hydrogen has to be 100% pure. On safety, the questions are whether to (a) add colourant because hydrogen has a near-invisible flame and (b) add a gas smell because hydrogen has no discernible odour.
More than half of the UK’s hydrogen is produced in and around Middlesbrough for use in the petrol, chemicals, food and electronics’ industries. Ben Houchen, the Mayor of the Tees Valley, has told the BMF he wants to combine hydrogen manufacture with carbon capture and storage to increase production and widen the market to include home heating and cars, buses & lorries of the future.
Capacity concerns
If hydrogen is the answer, the Government will have to decide if and how to financially support industry to grow this new and emerging market. The consensus is that tomorrow’s hydrogen boilers will be similar to today’s gas boilers which will help to plan and prepare for the transition. But the question of capacity and capability amongst installers remains unresolved.
The BMF has learned of a joint government and industry survey conducted 3 months’ ago that does not inspire confidence. When installers were asked for views on low-carbon heating: • 35% said they do not understand what the move away from fossil fuels could mean for them;
• 74% do not rate themselves as “very confident” in recommending and choosing the best low-carbon option for their customers;
• only 41% are happy to say they know how the shift to low-carbon heating will affect their work.
Installers will need proper training and registration to work with hydrogen, as they do now to comply with Gas Safe Register. It will take time and money before we have enough qualified fitters.
According to the Committee on Climate Change - and its Chairman, Lord Deben, who used to be John Gummer, Tory MP and Cabinet Minister - the UK’s legally-binding carbon targets will not be met without the elimination of emissions from buildings. Whoever is elected as the next Government on 12 December faces a huge challenge to convert voter aspiration into action. We know approx. 1½ million gas boilers are replaced each year. The prize to de-carbonise heating depends on consumers being given impartial advice and costed options to make carbon-friendly choices. The BMF has learned that Scottish Power is looking at ways to give local communities some idea of the scope and scale of the shift needed - and how their customers will be affected.
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BMF CEO John Newcomb met Minister of State for Business and Industry, Nadhim Zahawi,at a Parliamentary Reception loking into innovation in October.
Clear frameworks and pathways from government are critical to enable BMF members to innovate and invest in the materials and products. If not, tabloid newspapers will spread scare stories on how much it will cost families to replace boilers and insulation. We have seen reports from Policy Connect (a think-tank) and Capital Economics (a research consultancy) that attempt to put a price on it. Policy Connect says it could cost households up to £1,300 to replace conventional boilers with hydrogen models. Capital Economics calculates that nearly 23 million homes will require a heat pump - at a run-rate of 1,770 per day - and estimates it
will cost £192 billion overall.
All this work is designed to feed into the United Nations’ COP 26 Climate Change Summit in November 2020. The United Kingdom and Italy will co-host this conference in Glasgow for 200 world leaders and 30,000 delegates. COP 26 is the next stage to tackle global warming. It will be the most significant summit since Paris in 2015. Countries are expected to propose deeper cuts in emissions to fulfil their obligations. The Future Homes Standard is an example of policy that affects BMF members and their customers. Perhaps your New Year’s Resolution ought to be: will my business be ready for Net Zero ? BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net December 2019
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