Dear Friend

Cadent’s East of England Hydrogen Vision sets out bold ambitions but if we want the fastest and most cost-effective route to net zero in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, we need to get hydrogen in the right place, at the right scale.

Our analysis draws on the Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget (2025), the National Energy System Operator’s Future Energy Scenarios (2025), Michael Liebreich’s Hydrogen Ladder, and the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero Roadmap.

We are urging the Mayor of the East Midlands Combined County Authority to back an “electrification-first” approach, keep hydrogen for “no-regrets” uses, and phase infrastructure to match confirmed demand.

Our analysis and conclusions are set out in the links to the following Position Papers

Hydrogen and the Energy Economy of the East Midlands Executive Summary

This overarching paper summarises the evidence and reasoning that underpin the following five sectoral studies.

Hydrogen and Aviation

While hydrogen and Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) both have roles to play in the future of flight, neither can deliver unconstrained growth in air transport. Aviation is strategically important to the East Midlands economy, but the aviation sector is also one of the hardest to decarbonise. This paper sets out our assessment of hydrogen’s potential role, the alternatives, and the systemic constraints that will shape regional and national aviation policy.

Hydrogen and Heavy-Duty Road Vehicles

Transport is the largest source of greenhouse-gas emissions in the East Midlands, and heavy-duty vehicles HGVs, buses, coaches, and municipal fleets such as refuse collection vehicles are central to this challenge. Hydrogen may retain a limited role for certain very long-distance operations, or in depots where the electricity grid cannot yet be upgraded in time.

Hydrogen and Heating of Buildings

Heating buildings is one of the most challenging areas of UK decarbonisation, responsible for around one-fifth of greenhouse-gas emissions. This paper reviews the evidence on the potential role of hydrogen in heating domestic and non-domestic buildings and considers the alternative pathway of electrification through heat pumps.

Hydrogen and Industry

Hydrogen has a critical but limited role in decarbonising UK industry. It should be directed towards those processes where direct electrification is not technically or economically viable especially in high-temperature operations and in chemical feedstocks that inherently require hydrogen. Electrification must remain the first-choice pathway for most industrial heat and power applications.

Hydrogen and Grid Balancing

As the United Kingdom accelerates towards a renewable-electricity system, balancing supply and demand becomes increasingly complex. Hydrogen is sometimes promoted as a key solution a way to convert surplus renewable electricity into a storable fuel that can later generate power. Evidence from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) as well as international reviews, suggests that hydrogen’s role in grid balancing should remain strategic rather than routine.

Thank you for taking the time to read our position papers. Please share our analysis and conclusions with your colleagues and contacts.

For further information or comments on any of the information contained in the Position Papers please contact:

Tony Harris 07957 367948 tonyh4489@gmail.com

EMCCA Climate Coalition Hydrogen and Energy Subgroup