Mayor challenged to reduce support for hydrogen distribution (Feb 2026)

A local Climate Coalition has produced a detailed critique of plans put forward by Cadent, the gas distribution company, for East Midlands Hydrogen.

Their report, assessing the appropriate role of hydrogen in the region, has been sent to Mayor Claire Ward and members of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) Board.

Covering aviation, road transport, industry, building heating, grid balancing, and cross-cutting issues, the report offers the most detailed independent analysis to date of where hydrogen can genuinely support regional decarbonisation - and where alternative technologies offer better, faster, or more cost-effective solutions.

Lead author Emeritus Professor Michael Corcoran said: "Our aim has never been to promote or oppose hydrogen, but to bring clarity. Used wisely, hydrogen can strengthen the East Midlands' industrial future. Used indiscriminately, it can waste precious time, money and renewable energy. These papers show where hydrogen truly adds value - and where the region has better options.

"We are particularly critical of Cadent, who have greatly overstated the potential for hydrogen. Instead, our view is that the extensive gas network will need to be progressively decommissioned in a planned manner as the means by which buildings are heated is replaced by electricity and heat networks.

"We are asking EMCCA, as it develops its energy and industrial strategies, to consider three guiding principles that arise clearly from the evidence:

1. Prioritise electrification wherever possible, using hydrogen only where electrification or heat networks are not viable.
2. Reserve hydrogen for no-regrets, hard-to-abate sectors such as high-temperature industry, very long-distance transport, and strategic system balancing.
3. Phase any new hydrogen infrastructure in line with confirmed regional demand, with a focus on industrial clusters where hydrogen genuinely adds value."

The report draws on the UK Government's 2025 Carbon Budget and Growth Delivery Plan, national modelling by the Committee on Climate Change and the National Energy System Operator, and other detailed evidence, including specific data on emissions for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

Key findings include:

• Hydrogen will have an essential role in hard-to-abate industries, including steel production and glassmaking, and as a chemical feedstock - particularly in industrial clusters.
• It will have a more limited role in commercial aviation, long-distance road transport, and long-duration energy storage.
• For heating in buildings and for most road transport, hydrogen is substantially less efficient and more costly than electrification and heat networks.
• The region's unusually high share of industrial emissions - more than double the UK average - means place-based, cluster-focused hydrogen planning is essential.
• Some published estimates of regional hydrogen demand (notably from the gas distribution company Cadent) substantially overstate likely need when compared with national projections.
• A managed transition of the gas network, alongside targeted hydrogen deployment and expanded electrification, offers the most credible and affordable route to Net Zero for the region.

The report is produced by EMCCA Climate Coalition Hydrogen and Energy Sub-Group as a number of Position Papers which include links to a substantial evidence base for ease of use by policymakers, researchers and industry stakeholders.