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Transport Scotland has contracted Heriot-Watt University to work with road haulage fleets and stakeholders to assess where initial enroute charging and refuelling infrastructure for zero emission HGVs will be needed.

The Zero Emission Truck Taskforce, convened by Transport Scotland, includes a working group focused on hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The Taskforce included hydrogen truck manufacturers and fleets interested in hydrogen trucks.

We are engaging with key European ports such as the Ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg which we expect to become major hydrogen hubs. This includes working with the Port of Rotterdam and other strategic partners on Phase 2 of the Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) for Hydrogen Transport from Scotland Project (LHyTS), led by NZTC. The project is a feasibility assessment for a pilot trial for the shipment of LOHC from Scotland to the northern European mainland via Rotterdam, laying the foundations for establishing the viability of a strategic export route for hydrogen between Scotland and the EU.

We have also funded the Net Zero Technology Centre's Hydrogen Backbone Link project to assess the potential to connect Scotland to a European Hydrogen Backbone by either repurposing and optimising existing pipeline infrastructure or through the development of new infrastructure. Phase 1 of the study is now complete, with work on Phase 2 currently ongoing. A key focus of Phase 1 included the consideration of pipeline routing, identifying a preferred option connecting four production points (Sullom Voe, Flotta Terminal, St Fergus and Nigg Bay), with Emden in Germany.

In support of the development and publication of the Hydrogen Sector Export Plan, the Scottish Government has also commissioned several research studies. This includes the North Sea Hydrogen Alliance project led by NZTC in partnership with the German consultancy Cruh21, and the German umbrella organisation AquaVentus, focussing on investigating pipeline infrastructure between Scotland and Germany; and matching Scottish hydrogen production to German hydrogen demand. The project will help to strengthen existing ties between Scotland and Germany, building the case for hydrogen export from Scotland, and solidify the case for infrastructure investment in both Scottish and German Waters.

We engage under the auspices of the UK-Germany Joint Declaration of Intent on Hydrogen, signed in September 2023, and the North Seas Energy Cooperation (NSEC) MOU signed between the EU and the UK providing a framework for cooperation between the UK and NSEC membership which comprises Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the European Commission.

Given the regulatory regime for hydrogen is a mixture of reserved and devolved powers, we continue to engage with the UK Government via our involvement in the UK Hydrogen Regulators Forum to ensure any GB or UK wide regulatory developments do not inhibit development of the hydrogen sector in Scotland.

We are also working with UKG to ensure that the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard and Certification Scheme enables and does not create barriers to hydrogen export from Scotland to the EU.

Data from these reports is also included in Scotland’s Hydrogen Asset .

We published a report last year on the potential capability and interest in Scotland in developing a SAF sector, which could become a major end-use of hydrogen. That report can be found .

Finally, we are in the process of commissioning further research to map out capabilities and opportunities for the production of hydrogen derivatives and products for domestic use and export.

Given the increased interest in hydrogen imports from across Europe, we continue to work with the UK Government to establish key strategic partnership with Scotland’s near northern neighbours that can assist the development of a North Sea hydrogen corridor for the production and export of hydrogen into the North of Europe and beyond.

We recognise that international co-operation will be key to developing future hydrogen markets and their supporting infrastructure and we will continue to seek out opportunities to collaborate through projects such as the and the .

The Hydrogen Sector Export Plan will consider the short-term export opportunities around skills and the supply chain, as well as the economic opportunity for Scotland represented by the export of renewable hydrogen in the longer term.

To support the development of the Hydrogen Sector Export Plan, the Scottish Government have commissioned research to investigate low-carbon hydrogen demand scenarios in North-West European regions and sectors up to 2045.

This work will sit alongside research being conducted on the economic competitiveness of hydrogen in various sectors and end-uses, such as for aviation transport or for refineries, to establish the most likely off-taker markets for hydrogen and the current best estimates for the likely size of these markets.

Research has also been commissioned to map the key markets and opportunities for Scottish hydrogen supply chain goods and services. Together, this research will provide a robust evidence base demonstrating economic opportunity for hydrogen in Europe according to current available data.

The Hydrogen Sector Export Plan will be published later this year alongside a suite of research, including the North Sea Hydrogen Alliance project conducted by NZTC in partnership with Cruh21 which will match Scottish hydrogen production with German demand.

We are engaging and supporting companies throughout Scotland that are already undertaking or are interested in hydrogen opportunities, as well as others with potentially transferrable skills and currently not active in the sector to raise awareness of potential opportunity areas. Scotland’s Enterprise Agencies are capturing companies’ capabilities and compiling a soon to be publicly available online database to provide a useful tool for supply chain, project developers and investors keen to understand and work with Scotland’s hydrogen supply chain.

Scottish Enterprise recently ran a year-long Hydrogen Expert Support programme in which 33 Scottish companies participated, including manufacturers, technology developers or technical service providers seeking to diversify into or grow in the hydrogen sector. Scottish Enterprise funded workshops with an expert consultancy which provided each company with a tailored report giving them information on the sector and recommendations on what steps they could take to get involved based on their capabilities and ambitions.

The Scottish Government and Scotland’s Enterprise Agencies are also working with partners and stakeholders such as NECCUS and the Scottish Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Association to further the development of a hydrogen economy cluster for Scotland.