The National Infrastructure Commission, which advises the government on major long-term infrastructure challenges, recommended in October 2023 that the government should not support hydrogen for home heating1. The recommendation is recorded in a National Audit Office report on decarbonising home heating, published on 18 March 2024, which examines the progress the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has made since the 2021 Heat and Buildings Strategy1.
The same month, October 2023, the government clarified that heat pumps and heat networks will be the primary low-carbon technology for decarbonising home heating over the next decade and will play a key role in all pathways to 20501. The government maintains that it needs to establish the evidence base before taking decisions on hydrogen, but has also stated that no one should hold back on installing a heat pump or connecting to a heat network on the basis that hydrogen might be an option later1. The 2021 strategy had committed to developing the evidence base to inform strategic decisions in 2026 on the future role of hydrogen in home heating, and therefore the future heating technology mix1.
"recommended that the government should not support hydrogen for home heating"
Heating the UK's 28 million homes accounted for 18% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, the most recent year for which data are available, with the main source being the burning of natural gas1. The 2021 strategy set an ambition to end the installation of new fossil fuel boilers by 2035 and committed to growing the heat pump supply chain to a minimum market capacity of 600,000 installations per year by 20281. The NAO found that progress with encouraging households to install heat pumps has been slower than planned because costs remain high and public awareness remains low1. It also said aspects of the department's overall pathway remain unclear, particularly as it works towards determining the role of hydrogen, and that uncertainty could hamper progress and drive up costs while consumers and businesses wait for further clarity1.
Why it matters for households
The advice against hydrogen for home heating, alongside the government's position that heat pumps and heat networks are the primary low-carbon technology for the next decade, bears on how a home's heating can be made independent of natural gas. The policy position on hydrogen for home heating remains that the evidence base is still being established, with strategic decisions on hydrogen's future role previously signalled for 20261. For a household weighing a hydrogen boiler against a natural gas boiler, the government's stated position is that no one should hold back on a heat pump or a heat network connection on the basis that hydrogen might be an option later1. The NAO notes that decarbonising home heating requires almost all households to engage in the transition, and that the future of the gas networks and plans for harder-to-decarbonise homes remain longer-term challenges1. How far any of this shifts the practical case for home heating and energy independence has not been reported beyond these positions.
What happens next
The government has said it needs to establish the evidence base before taking decisions on hydrogen, with the 2021 strategy having committed to strategic decisions in 2026 on hydrogen's future role in home heating1. The NAO has recommended that the department should not extend this work beyond what is necessary to come to an informed decision1. No further dated steps on hydrogen for home heating are set out in the report.
Sources1 cited
- Decarbonising home heating - NAO report, nao.org.uk