I had looked forward to being in the box, but as they say, them’s the breaks. I take the opportunity to thank the Secretary of State, my private office and the team in the Department for their support in the past year. Does the Secretary of State agree that whoever wins this fabulous festival of talent, it is essential that we put science, technology and innovation at the very heart of our economy—perhaps even with a Cabinet Minister for it?

Clean energy technologies are fundamental in both securing our energy supply and meeting net zero. This Conservative Government have set out their ambition to invest up to £22 billion in research and development by 2024. Meanwhile, we are moving to annual options for renewable energy and investing big in our nuclear future.

Clean energy technologies are fundamental in both securing our energy supply and meeting net zero. This Conservative Government have set out their ambition to invest up to £22 billion in research and development by 2024. Meanwhile, we are moving to annual options for renewable energy and investing big in our nuclear future.

BEIS officials have recently had meetings with three wave and tidal stream developers and have received responses from a large number of developers and supply chain companies to the recently closed Call for Evidence on marine energy.

To date, nine tidal stream developers have received funding from BEIS under the Renewables Obligation scheme. In addition to that, one tidal stream developer has received funding through BEIS’s Energy Innovation Programme.

Recent reports commissioned by the industry suggest that there are 22 active tidal stream developers in the UK.

The Government is committed to the development of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier for the UK. Development of a hydrogen strategy is well under way and we have committed to publishing a UK hydrogen strategy in early 2021.

As the independent energy regulator, Ofgem regulates electricity distribution companies through a price control framework which governs networks’ revenues, investments and performance standards. In its Decarbonisation Action Plan, Ofgem stated its commitment to creating a regulatory environment which enables and encourages networks to invest for Net Zero. The Government is supportive of this objective.

The Government’s Green Finance Strategy set out our approach to accelerating green finance and catalysing private investment to support delivery of the UK’s climate objectives.

The Government is committed to exploring the option of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier and works closely with local partnerships across the country. In the course of work to understand the potential role of hydrogen in the wider energy system, my officials and I have met with a range of national, regional and local stakeholders.

The Government is committed to exploring the option of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier and works closely with local partnerships across the country. In the course of work to understand the potential role of hydrogen in the wider energy system, my officials and I have met with a range of national, regional and local stakeholders.

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes. The scheme is due to be launched in Autumn 2020. Further details on the scheme are due to be released in the coming days.

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will offer grants to public sector bodies to fund both energy efficiency and low carbon heat measures. The details of the eligible technologies in scope for the scheme will be announced in due course.

Further details on the Social Housing Demonstrator, including which technologies will be eligible, will be announced at its launch in the Autumn.

Funding will be allocated competitively, building on the experience of the Whole House Retrofit (WHR) programme. The WHR competition was launched in May 2019 and awarded a total of £7.7m to the first three winning organisations in the Whole House Retrofit competition.

In the Government’s Future Homes Standards consultation, which closed 7 February, we proposed that new homes built to this standard should have 75-80% fewer CO2 emissions than those built to current building regulation standards. An impact assessment on the Future Homes Standard will be published when we consult on the details of the policy proposals. We will carefully consider any impacts on costs and housing supply as part of the consultation.

What steps he is taking to develop hydrogen technology in the UK.

I echo the sentiments expressed about our late colleague, Jo Cox.

The Minister will be aware that Germany announced in the last number of weeks that it is investing £5 billion in hydrogen technology. It joins the long list of countries investing billions of pounds, which includes Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia, as well as the EU. The £121 million to which he referred is very welcome, but it will never make us the leader of the pack in this industry. Let us move on from trials, Minister. Let us move on to real investment in this technology and become the world leader that Britain and the United Kingdom can be in this wonderful technology, which will create jobs and provide more employment across the whole UK.

We are investing up to £121 million between 2015 and 2021 in hydrogen innovation, supporting the application of new low-carbon hydrogen technologies across the value chain. I have had valuable discussions with businesses on the importance of scaling up hydrogen supply, including with Wrightbus, in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency.

The Government is committed to exploring the development of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, alongside electricity and other decarbonised gases. Recently, the government published its Energy Innovation Needs Assessment (EINA) for hydrogen and fuel cells which identified that in 2050 up to 15,000 jobs per annum could be created through domestic hydrogen opportunities. In order to support the development of hydrogen, unlocking jobs and growth we are:

• Investing in innovation, with up to £121m supporting a range of projects exploring and developing hydrogen across the value chain;
• Supporting hydrogen deployment through our £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen Fund; and
• Developing sustainable business models to support low carbon hydrogen production at scale.

Hydrogen is a potential decarbonisation option across multiple economic sectors, including transport, heat, industry and power. Our independent advisors the Committee on Climate Change have suggested that a major increase in hydrogen production is required in order to meet our 2050 net zero target, with a complete switch to low carbon production methods[1].

The Government is committed to exploring the option of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, alongside electricity. In line with this we are investing up to £121m in hydrogen innovation, supporting a range of projects exploring the potential of low carbon hydrogen across the value chain. This includes the:

• £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme - to increase the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles and grow the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations
• £25m Hy4Heat programme - to explore the safety and feasibility of using 100% hydrogen for heat in the home, including product development and core safety assessment.
• £20m Industrial Fuel Switching Competition - to test the potential for switching to hydrogen (and other low carbon fuels) in industrial sectors like cement and glass manufacture.
• £33m Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply Competition – to support the development of bulk low carbon hydrogen production technologies

Alongside our innovation activity, we are building sustainable policy frameworks to support investment in low carbon hydrogen production, including through progressing a business model to enable this.

[1] Net Zero – Technical Report, Committee on Climate Change, May 2019 - https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-technical-report/

Hydrogen is a potential decarbonisation option across multiple economic sectors, including transport, heat, industry and power. Our independent advisors the Committee on Climate Change have suggested that a major increase in hydrogen production is required in order to meet our 2050 net zero target, with a complete switch to low carbon production methods[1].

The Government is committed to exploring the option of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, alongside electricity. In line with this we are investing up to £121m in hydrogen innovation, supporting a range of projects exploring the potential of low carbon hydrogen across the value chain. This includes the:

• £23m Hydrogen for Transport Programme - to increase the uptake of fuel cell electric vehicles and grow the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations
• £25m Hy4Heat programme - to explore the safety and feasibility of using 100% hydrogen for heat in the home, including product development and core safety assessment.
• £20m Industrial Fuel Switching Competition - to test the potential for switching to hydrogen (and other low carbon fuels) in industrial sectors like cement and glass manufacture.
• £33m Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply Competition – to support the development of bulk low carbon hydrogen production technologies

Alongside our innovation activity, we are building sustainable policy frameworks to support investment in low carbon hydrogen production, including through progressing a business model to enable this.

[1] Net Zero – Technical Report, Committee on Climate Change, May 2019 - https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/net-zero-technical-report/