On 18 July 2001 the UK Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) marked the launch of its report Hydrogen: Driving the Future with a debate at the Institute of Materials in London.
The IPPR is a centre-left policy think-tank set up in 1998. This report was produced as part of its Low Carbon Initiative, which addresses key policy barriers to the development of a low carbon economy.
Summary
Written by IPPRs Julie Foley, Hydrogen: Driving the Future examined the policy implications of developing hydrogen as a fuel for road vehicles. The reports message was clear. In spite of their merits, hydrogen vehicles could not be successfully introduced without the long-term support of the Government.
At present the UK Government has no dedicated hydrogen programme and is lagging behind the USA, Japan and Germany in the research and development of a hydrogen economy. The IPPR report suggested that the Government should act as the catalyst by
- Establishing a Hydrogen Task Force with cross party political representation and involvement from industrial, environmental and consumer groups
- Establishing new hydrogen safety standards and raising public awareness of hydrogen.
- Establishing a dedicated hydrogen research programme in the UK.
- Giving local municipal authorities the power to set Zero Emission Bus mandates.
- Imposing zero fuel duty on hydrogen for the lifetime of a Parliament.
The UKs recently established Carbon Trust, which will invest up to £200 million in the next two years in low carbon technologies, could be a potential source of funding.
Responses
A number of political representatives responded to the report.
- David Jamieson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions, commended the report but was reluctant to respond to any of its proposals. He suggested that it was dangerous for the Government to get involved too early and wrong for them to try to pick winners. He noted that the Government was launching a consultation in autumn 2001 on powering future vehicles.
- Stephen Norris, Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party (and director of Zetek Power plc), suggested that the hydrogen debate should be focused on residential, agricultural and marine applications as well as transport. He was confident that if hydrogen were exempted from fuel duty, the market would change very quickly.
- Jenny Jones, Green Party member of the Greater London Authority (GLA), said that the GLA is planning a Zero Emissions summit, and that ZEVs might be exempt from the congestion charge.