A report by the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) outlines the crucial challenges that must be addressed to boost the hydrogen economy and support the UK in reaching its net zero goals.

The UK government has committed to channelling up to £500m into green hydrogen over the parliament in a bid to deliver clean power by 2030.

However, for hydrogen to meaningfully contribute to a net zero society it must be produced at scale and at a low cost, and with minimal environment impact. As the UK’s National Metrology Institute and a public sector research establishment, NPL is focused on ensuring that as hydrogen technologies are being developed and deployed, metrology plays a key role in supporting operations, standardisation and innovations throughout the hydrogen economy.

For instance, hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers require reliable gas quality measurements and new test capabilities to support the deployment of hydrogen infrastructure.

NPL scientist Ali Al-Sikab said: “The last few...