Debate contribution: Hydrogen Innovation Strategy
Debate contribution by Ms Kellie Armstrong on .
- MLA
- Ms Kellie Armstrong
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 25 March 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Hydrogen Innovation Strategy
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4866416
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you to the DUP for tabling the motion. Hydrogen development in Northern Ireland is emerging as a pivotal element of the region's transition to a low-carbon economy. Such development utilises Northern Ireland's substantial renewable energy capacity, which is predominantly wind, and innovative applications of electrolysis to convert surplus curtailed energy into green hydrogen. That stored hydrogen can later be used to decarbonise transport, heat and industrial processes. While many Economy Committee members have talked today about the opportunities for export, I would like to bring the issue back to the internal market. Today, in Northern Ireland, we have a Housing Executive supply that is largely dependent on oil. When we talk about blending — I agree that we need to be taking forward hydrogen as a blend with gas — we need to look at what the capacity could be in Northern Ireland to create a different mechanism and a different heating system that will benefit our people. We can certainly sell off our surpluses, but we need to consider how much our people are spending on fuel to heat their homes. Fuel poverty levels in Northern Ireland are appalling, and hydrogen is one of those mechanisms that we could use to help people.
Thank you. Hopefully, I will not need it. I agree with the Member. This has the potential to reduce our dependence on volatile fossil fuel markets for homeowners and businesses. Lower carbon emissions and creating high-skilled jobs — what is not to love? The Alliance Party produced a green new deal paper in April 2021 calling for exactly this. We wanted Northern Ireland to be a world leader in emerging hydrogen technologies, promoting innovative projects that produce hydrogen gas and alternative blends and researching how it could play a part in meeting the challenges with energy storage, home heating and transport, which are two of the largest carbon emitters. That new deal outlined a vision for a cleaner and more resilient economy, with hydrogen playing a key role. By harnessing our open coastlines and investing in the hydrogen skills base, we can establish Northern Ireland as a hub for low-carbon advanced manufacturing with the UK. As my colleague said, we need to consider our place in the world market. We have the perfect place where we can tap into the European market and the United Kingdom market. We also have the opportunity to attract funding from both. To drive all this forward, as others have said, we need to have the workforce and we need to prioritise skills development, including dedicated hydrogen apprenticeships. To realise that potential, we need a dedicated hydrogen innovation strategy for Northern Ireland that sets out clear objectives for production, storage and use across sectors such as transport and heavy industry. I ask the Minister for the Economy to develop and consult on that strategy as a matter of urgency. I also ask that, if the Minister is taking forward a consultation on this, she consider that our Education Authority has one of the largest fleets of buses in Northern Ireland. Why is it not on hydrogen already? Our health service pays a fortune for its energy consumption in hospitals. Why can we not move those sectors into hydrogen use as well? I am interested in the potential for harnessing energy from our waters. My constituency of Strangford has the longest coastline. For anyone who has listened to me — I can bore all day on it — I am passionate about renewable energy and the untapped potential of our local waters. I visited the Queen's University Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy in Strangford. It has been working on tidal energy, wind turbines and the types of wind turbines that can capture as much energy as possible. Our coastlines have the potential to support our energy requirements as part of a mix, but we are failing to grasp the opportunities that are on the doorsteps of most of our constituencies. We have to engage all the opportunities to actively replace our dependence on fossil fuels. Hydrogen development in Northern Ireland is a multifaceted strategy that combines the efficient use of renewable energy, technological innovation in electrolysis and storage and forward-looking policy reforms. That integrated approach is essential for reducing reliance on fossil fuels, enhancing energy security and driving economic growth through the creation of new green jobs and sustainable infrastructure.
729 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.93).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.93 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.96 |
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.02 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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