Hydrogen Policy & Procedures: A Roadmap for a Net-Zero UK

Hydrogen policy and procedures: A roadmap for a net-zero UK

Published: 25 July 2025

As the UK continues its journey toward net zero by 2050, hydrogen is emerging as an important player in our future energy mix. Its potential to decarbonise specific elements of the energy landscape make it a strategic asset in our climate goals, though not without challenge.

But overcoming these, and realising hydrogen’s potential at any scale, requires much more. More than innovation, investment and infrastructure. We need clear, coordinated and future-ready policies and procedures.

The UK hydrogen strategy, launched in 2021 and updated in 2024, sets out a bold vision: to reach 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with at least half coming from electrolytic (green) hydrogen. A big ask that needs action. And that action starts with addressing the frameworks that govern how hydrogen is produced, transported, and used – safely and efficiently – across our nation.

Why policy and procedure are more than paperwork

Policies and procedures are often seen as the backstage workings of the energy industry, but in the context of hydrogen transition, they become centre stage. They ensure safety, compliance and consistency across a rapidly evolving landscape. What’s more, they provide the confidence that investors, regulators and – crucially – the public need to support the idea of hydrogen use at scale.

We are part of this collaborative fabric. Commissioned to support the UK’s gas networks, we undertook a comprehensive review of the policies, technical standards, and procedures that underpin gas operations. Our job: to create a hydrogen-ready document suite that formalises the operational realities of a low-carbon future.

A roadmap for change

Rather than leaving each network to revise its documents in isolation, duplicating effort and cost, we developed a master document suite that identified commonalities and prioritised key updates across the industry.

Through workshops with subject matter experts and alignment with major hydrogen projects across the country, we created a roadmap that’s both technically robust and strategically aligned.

This collaborative approach not only streamlined the development of policy and procedure, but freed up critical resources within the UK gas networks, allowing them to stay focused on delivery, and supporting their continued pace on the path to hydrogen deployment.

Building confidence, enabling progress

The outcome of this work is more than a set of updated documents. It is a signal to stakeholders – including regulatory and governmental bodies – that the UK’s gas networks are procedurally prepared for hydrogen. It’s a model of how clear policies and industry collaboration can turn individual complexities into shared ability.

As we scale up hydrogen production and integrate it into our national energy footprint, this kind of structured, transparent approach will be essential, again and again. Action like this ensures that networks work together, that safety is never compromised, that innovation is supported by regulation, and that the UK remains a leader in clean energy.

Looking ahead: our shared responsibility

Hydrogen transition is not the responsibility of any one organisation; it’s a national endeavour. By working together, sharing knowledge, and aligning all our procedures, we can build a hydrogen economy that is not only technically sound, but socially and environmentally principled, too.