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This questionnaire from the Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC) – Scotland’s national independent scientific advisory body – asked a series of questions about the role of hydrogen in delivering a fast, socially inclusive energy transition.
Our response noted that the use of hydrogen for heating homes is seen as a marginal one under virtually all realistic decarbonisation scenarios provided by the Climate Change Committee, Energy Systems Catapult, National Grid and others, and the regions that will be most likely to see hydrogen used in this way are those situated proximate to hydrogen production facilities with relatively small populations where residential heating could be provided by hydrogen if electrification is difficult.
It went on to emphasise that, for the sectors that Energy Saving Trust works in, the expectation is that hydrogen will only play a marginal role in resolving energy demand challenges, either directly in homes or indirectly as a fuel source for heat networks. Green hydrogen from renewable sources, or pink hydrogen from waste sources will be important low carbon fuels but will be scarce and therefore it will be important to focus this where it is most needed.