New funding to drive innovation in the hydrogen sector and accelerate its production and storage was announced by the Scottish Government yesterday.
The £10million hydrogen innovation scheme will provide capital support over the next four years
This aims to unlock additional private investment in the technology, and enable new companies to enter the sector.
The first round of funding will target:
*Projects that support the low-cost, efficient and sustainable production of renewable hydrogen.
*Projects that support efficient hydrogen storage and distribution, both within Scotland and for export.
*Projects that support the efficient integration of hydrogen into the energy system.
Scottish Government commitment
The scheme is part of a Scottish Government commitment to invest £100million in hydrogen over the course of this parliament. It is part of a wider £180million investment in emerging energy technologies.
Net-Zero and Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said: "Scotland has the resources, the people and the ambition to become a world leader in hydrogen production for both domestic use and for export to Europe.
"The Scottish Government is committed to working with the energy sector to establish hydrogen as an important part of a cleaner, greener energy system, supporting a just transition for the industry, both home and abroad.
"Our offshore-wind resources, which will increase massively in the coming years, offer huge opportunity for the hydrogen sector to grow as set out in our hydrogen action plan, and our clear ambition to have 5GW installed hydrogen production capacity in Scotland by 2030 and 25GW by 2045.
"We are open to the world and actively seeking opportunities to collaborate with international partners. The hydrogen innovation scheme provides important, near-term investment to help the sector develop, diversify and realise its potential to support our transition to a net-zero economy."
Andy McDonald, head of low-carbon transition at Scottish Enterprise, added: "We share the ambition to develop Scotland as a leading hydrogen nation. Innovation is a big part of that as it is at the heart of economic development.
"It is important in an emerging sector like hydrogen that we support Scottish companies and projects now to develop new techniques and technologies which can help us to realise our future ambitions in this sector and to retain as much value and intellectual property in Scotland as possible."