North-west UK to see economic boost from hydrogen economy by 2030

A new report released today by the North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) predicts that the region could see an economic boost of £3.4 billion (€4 billion) and 11,500 jobs created by 2030 from the hydrogen sector.
The report looks to understand the economic impact of hydrogen activity in the north-west across the hydrogen value chain – including production, infrastructure and end use – with hydrogen production estimated to have the greatest impact on employment and GVA.
Thousands of jobs will be created in construction manufacturing and engineering for building essential hydrogen infrastructure with wider employment impacts to be found in professional services and business roles.
Earlier this year the NWHA revealed that demand for low carbon hydrogen in the North West could support up to 2 GW of hydrogen production by 2030 – a fifth of the Government’s target for the whole of the UK.
The region is one of the first two decarbonised energy clusters given Government backing with HyNet North West selected as a Track-1 Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) cluster. With a number of hydrogen projects already underway including green hydrogen, hydrogen buses, trials of hydrogen in industry and salt cavern hydrogen storage, the North West is set to be the first region to develop a hydrogen market in the UK.
Dave Richardson, interim chair of the NWHA and decarbonisation solutions director at Costain said: “The North West stands to benefit hugely from leading the charge on hydrogen. The regional economy is set for a £3.4bn boost with thousands of jobs created in production, infrastructure development and end-use by 2030.
“With projects like HPP1, HyNet and Trafford Green Hydrogen currently underway, there’s already plenty of opportunities to get involved in the net zero transition, whether you’re starting out in your career or looking to transfer skills honed in other sectors. Developing a hydrogen economy will also help safeguard many thousand more jobs as industry in the region switches to this low carbon fuel on their decarbonisation journey.”