Is hydrogen the solution to net-zero home heating?

Up to a third of the UK's greenhouse emissions come from central heating. But a switch from natural gas to hydrogen, one of three proposals for greener energy, has experts divided

On 27 June 2019, the energy and clean growth minister Chris Skidmore signed papers that committed the UK to reduce carbon emissions to effectively nothing by 2050. If we are to stand any chance of meeting this target, known as "net zero", there is one enormous challenge that we will have to tackle: home heating.

Warming our homes is responsible for between a quarter and a third of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions. That's more than 10 times the amount of CO₂ created by the aviation industry. Around 85% of homes now use gas-fired central heating, and a large proportion of gas cooking still takes place. Greening this system is a huge challenge by any measure. But if recent reports are to be believed, there could be a simple and efficient way to do it: change from using natural gas to hydrogen gas.