Evaluation of Hy4Heat programme
Final evaluation findings from the Hy4Heat Programme.
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Launched in 2017, Hy4Heat’s mission was to establish if it is technically possible, safe and convenient to replace natural gas with hydrogen in residential and commercial buildings and gas appliances. The then Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) commissioned a process, impact and economic evaluation of Hy4Heat, aiming to address the following high-level questions:
- what impact has the programme had?
- how has the programme achieved these impacts?
- how effective and efficient has the programme delivery plan been?
- what is the overall cost-effectiveness of the programme?
- what is the wider learning from the evaluation?
The final independent evaluation collected evidence using a mixed-method, theory-based approach. Specifically, it has used a contribution analysis with process tracing, to assess the contribution of the programme towards meeting its intended outcomes and impacts. An economic value for money assessment took place alongside this. The study has drawn on evidence from the following:
- investment trend analysis – examining changes in variables such as equity investment, changes in firm valuation, and awarding of public funding for hydrogen R&D
- patent data analysis
- review of comparator international programmes
- review of programme data and documentation – including the programme business cases, key performance indicator (KPI) data, and invitations to tender for each work package
- bespoke interview programme – this involved 79 interviews covering work package lead contractors, external national and international stakeholders, and government representatives