§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Energy what research he is undertaking into hydrogen fuels for transport and domestic purposes; what is Great Britain's position in this field; and if he is satisfied that the United Kingdom will be ready to use these safer fuels before our major competitors.
§ Mr. EadieI am informed that studies made by interested bodies in the United Kingdom show that the manufacture of hydrogen on a large scale and its utilisation as a fuel for transport and domestic purposes is unlikely to be an attractive option in the foreseeable future. My Department is not undertaking any active research in this area, although the situation is kept under constant review.
There is no expectation that hydrogen will be a cheaper and more efficient means of distributing energy than alternatives and there would be many problems in establishing suitable and safe distribution systems. Hydrocarbon fuels have a number of advantages over hydrogen and the United Kingdom is fortunate in having adequate supplies of gas and oil in the medium term.
In the longer term, our coal reserves form a large potential resource for the manufacture of substitute natural gas and synthetic liquid fuels. Substantial research and development programmes are being pursued by the fuel industries in these areas and last year it was announced that Government support of up to £20 million would be provided during the period up to March 1983 for projects for converting coal into petrol, substitute natural gas and raw material for the chemical industry. As part of this programme my Department has recently agreed to contribute £800,000 towards design studies by the National Coal Board for a pilot plant to produce transport fuels and chemical feedstocks from coal.
552WOther countries less well endowed with fossil fuels may find it desirable to resort to the manufacture of hydrogen and it would be entirely appropriate for them to do this earlier than we would consider necessary in the United Kingdom.