Top low-carbon business figures highlight hurdles in UK’s Net Zero plan at Hull event

Amongst the issues discussed was the speed at which energy firms are able to gain access to the grid, as well as the pace of the Government’s approach.

Recent reports have detailed firms waiting upwards of 15 years to gain connectivity to the UK power grid.

Noelle Jupille, business development manager for hydrogen at BP, said she did not believe enough was being done to solve grid connectivity issues.

She said: “I see that there is an immense challenge that the grid is dealing with.

"I think there needs to be more activity now to think about what the structures are of dealing with it, and how we can start putting out clear guidance that allows us to really understand how we can do hydrogen projects in certain locations, with the confidence that we’ve got the network that we need.

"In my opinion that is something that everyone needs to put a bit more thought into. I think it will quickly come to a head if we don't."

Chris Smith, founder and CEO of green hydrogen producer Meld Energy, said he would encourage "far more action" on solving the issue of grid connections being unavailable for energy firms.

A Government Spokesperson said: “Since 2010, we’ve increased the amount of renewable energy connected to the grid by 500 per cent – the second highest amount in Europe.

"This has meant installing 3790MW of additional capacity across all renewables in 2022 alone - enough to power 3.8 million homes.

“We continue to support more renewable projects to come online, including onshore wind if there is local community backing, as clean, more affordable energy brings down costs for consumers and boosts our long-term energy security.”

Joseph Seifert, CEO of Vertex Hydrogen noted his belief that greater “speed and scale” was needed in the Government's plan to reach Net Zero.

Mr Seifert said that the large international companies involved in the move to Net Zero through hydrogen need “predictability”, and a business model which, like offshore wind, tells companies when they will be compensated for low carbon energy production.

Speaking on the Government’s recent decisions regarding giving projects Track 1 and Track 2 support status, he said: “The projects which were not selected were told: 'We'll come back to you at some point with the next phase', but 'some point' is very hard for my shareholders with limited teams and thousands of things to do around the world.

“We also have contractors who we've said: 'let's race ahead to'. They're multinational EPC contractors, and they're asking us 'is this happening or not?' and we can't just hold them for two years."

A Government spokesperson added: “We can be proud of the UK’s record as a world-leader on net zero. We are going far beyond other countries and delivering tangible progress whilst bringing down energy bills with hundreds of pounds coming off bills from next month.

“The UK is cutting emissions faster than any other G7 country and attracted billions of investment into renewables, which now account for 40% of our electricity.