Technologies are competing for the household heating market
No big shift to hydrogen likely in UK heating – Octopus
Heat pumps likely to win out in household heating as cost of hydrogen will hold it back, CEO of green hydrogen company tells First Element conference
Hydrogen will fail to achieve a significant breakthrough as a fuel in the UK’s future low-carbon domestic heating market because it will cost too much compared with natural gas and electricity in the long term, according to green hydrogen project developer Octopus Hydrogen. Green hydrogen production costs would need to drop to around 50p/kg (62¢/kg) even to match the UK’s long-term average gas price of 70p/th, Octopus Hydrogen’s CEO and founder Will Rowe told Gulf Energy Information’s First Element hydrogen conference in London. Rowe puts UK green hydrogen production costs at about £10/kg based on current electricity prices, implying a 20-fold increase in household heating bills. In the long
Also in this section
25 February 2026
Low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia development is advancing much more slowly and unevenly than once expected, with high costs and policy uncertainty thinning investment. Meanwhile, surging energy demand is reinforcing the role of natural gas and LNG as the backbone of the global energy system, panellists at LNG2026 said
18 February 2026
Norwegian energy company has dropped a major hydrogen project and paused its CCS expansion plans as demand fails to materialise
4 February 2026
Europe’s largest electrolyser manufacturers are losing patience with policymakers as sluggish growth in the green hydrogen sector undermines their decision to expand production capacity
2 February 2026
As a fertiliser feedstock, it is indispensable, but ammonia’s potential as a carbon-free energy carrier is also making it central to global decarbonisation strategies
