Great British Nuclear Vehicle to be set up this year

The government published its British Energy Security Strategy in April 2022, committing to set up the Great British Nuclear Vehicle this year to help nuclear projects through every stage of development and build a pipeline of new builds¹. The strategy also raises the ambition for civil nuclear deployment to up to 24GW by 2050¹.

The document sets out a series of funding commitments and dates. It confirms the £450 million Boiler Upgrade Scheme launching this month, a £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund launching later in April, and a £120 million Future Nuclear Enabling Fund launching in April¹. On household bills, it states that the Warm Home Discount will increase to £150 in October and extend its coverage to assist three million people, alongside a £200 reduction in energy bills from October for all households in Great Britain through the Energy Bills Support Scheme¹.

On energy efficiency, the strategy commits to expanding the Energy Company Obligation to £1 billion per year from 2022 to 2026, and to zero-rating VAT for the next five years on the installation of energy saving materials, including insulation and low carbon heating¹. It also sets a 2035 date by which the government intends to phase out the sale of new and replacement gas boilers¹.

On hydrogen, the strategy doubles the ambition to up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, subject to affordability and value for money, and states that the government plans to blend up to 20 per cent hydrogen into the natural gas grid, with a final decision by the end of next year¹. On renewables, the ambition is to deliver up to 50GW by 2030, including up to 5GW of innovative floating wind¹.

"Setting up the Great British Nuclear Vehicle this year"

The strategy also commits to phasing out the use of Russian oil and coal by the end of 2022, and Russian LNG gas imports as soon as possible thereafter¹. It states that the North Sea Transition Authority plans to launch another licensing round in the autumn, with the next round a year earlier in March 2023¹.

Why it matters for households

The strategy frames energy security around reducing dependence on imported oil and gas, noting that gas is used both to generate electricity and to heat the majority of the country's 28 million homes¹. For a household, the measures with the most direct bearing are the bill support and efficiency commitments: the £200 reduction through the Energy Bills Support Scheme and the £150 Warm Home Discount from October 2022, and the zero-rating of VAT on energy saving materials including insulation and low carbon heating for five years¹. The 2035 date for phasing out the sale of new and replacement gas boilers signals a longer-term shift in how homes are heated, while the expansion of the Energy Company Obligation to £1 billion per year from 2022 to 2026 sets the scale of funding for efficiency improvements¹. The nuclear, hydrogen and renewables commitments concern the generating and supply side, and their effect on a home's energy independence would depend on delivery over the coming decades.

What happens next

The strategy lists several dated steps: the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and Future Nuclear Enabling Fund all launch in April 2022¹. A comprehensive Energy Advice Service is to launch on GOV.UK by summer, and the first UK-Qatar Strategic Energy Dialogue is to be hosted in May, with more details to be announced in May¹. A blueprint for the whole system is to be set out by the end of 2022 in the Holistic Network Design and Centralised Strategic Network Plan¹. The strategy states that the phase-out of Russian oil and coal will be completed by the end of 2022¹.

Sources1 cited

1. British Energy Security Strategy, data.parliament.uk