Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Hydrogen energy is an exciting and very interesting technology that can be used to create energy to power cars, HGVs, shipping, and also to heat homes. So, I'm very, very pleased to be able to support Plaid's motion today.

Provided this hydrogen itself is sourced from renewable energies, it provides a solution to the pollution that damages health and causes multiple deaths each year in this country. However, as I've pointed out before, unless the pollution created by shipping is addressed, we will never solve the world's pollution problem. But there is hope because of hydrogen. The Race for Water concept ship uses solar power and a hydrogen stack to extend its range when it's away from the equator. Hydrogen engines are also being developed for the use in HGVs as well. Riversimple's approach to designing the cars around the power cell is not only incredibly logical, it's resulted in a car that's a viable prospect with few of the drawbacks of those electric and hybrid cars that are somewhat counterproductive, being a combination of fossil fuel and heavy batteries.

The innovation and technological ability of that home-grown company are to be commended, and they're part of a proud tradition of British engineers who split the atom and gave the world the computer. So, let's not make the same mistake that previous generations have, who saw inventions brought into being by British people only to see companies in other countries make a fortune out of them.

A key point was raised yesterday in First Minister's questions, when it was said that we should we be careful about putting all of our eggs in the electrical vehicle basket. I fully agree that we should have a mixed source of energy production. We don't want to find ourselves beholden to a cartel in the way that we currently are with petrol and diesel, and a suitable energy mix will prevent that.

Electrical vehicles powered by battery are not without damage to the environment, as I've commented on here in the past. The electricity has to be generated, and in the main we're still doing that by use of fossil fuels. The materials for the massive batteries required also need to be mined and processed—a process that's potentially damaging to the environment and human health. Disposal of those batteries is also highly problematic. It's positive from the point of view that electric vehicles don't produce toxic emissions, but under our current power mix, these emissions have simply been shifted elsewhere—they're still going into the atmosphere. Hydrogen-fuelled vehicles don't pose that Hobson's choice.

Turning to our amendment, we recognise that widespread introduction of hydrogen-powered vehicles will require an infrastructure that costs money to install. That applied, of course, to the introduction of the horse-drawn carriage in the first place. While once we had staging posts for horse-drawn transport, complete with fodder and stabling, an entire infrastructure had to be created to store, transport and refine, or to produce petrol, diesel and heating oil.

Petrol stations are already equipped to deal with combustible fuel, and whilst it's true they would require adaptation to accommodate hydrogen, the task isn't as great as that posed before, at the start of the fossil-fuel vehicle era. I'm sure any key events such as that mentioned in the motion would produce a range of ideas, and I'm fully supportive of the motion from that point of view. But I would ask that we keep the options being considered realistically affordable.

We need to ensure that there's a good return on investment, and that the risks of creating the necessary infrastructure, and research and development, and then promotion of the technology is shared fairly between the companies that will profit from it, the Government, and ultimately, the taxpayer.

We'll also need buy-in from the public, but that's not going to happen if they fear they're going to be hit with another costly green tax. So, reassurance from Government on that score, I think, would be greatly appreciated. And to that end, I urge you to back UKIP's amendment. Thank you.