Green gas28 Oct 2018 14:51
https://utilityweek.co.uk/case-using-hydrogen-decarbonise-heat/
Decarbonising the heat sector is one of the most pressing concerns for the energy industry today. Heating our homes, businesses and industry accounts for nearly half of all energy use in the UK and a third of our carbon emissions. Meeting our target of reducing emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050 implies decarbonising nearly all heat in buildings and most industrial processes.
We now need to lay the groundwork to enable government to make decisions about the long-term future of heat. The demands on our energy infrastructure will change as low-carbon heating technologies take over from fossil fuels, with a greater dependence on low-carbon gases such as hydrogen and biofuels, geothermal energy and electricity. Understanding how we can capitalise on our existing infrastructure to transport, manage and generate energy is vital.
Failure to meet our carbon reduction target is not an option and a complete reliance on the electrification of heat, transport and wider power demand is not realistic in terms of cost, capacity or storage potential.
The opportunity to repurpose the gas network to transport a zero-carbon gas such as hydrogen could be transformational for heat, making this alternative gas a cornerstone of a diverse and sustainable lower carbon energy mix.
The UK government has recognised hydrogen as a key pathway to decarbonising heat and there are currently several significant hydrogen projects under way in the UK testing different scenarios and advocating various approaches.
A conversion of the UK gas distribution network to 100 per cent hydrogen is a grand plan but one that will help guarantee the government hits its decarbonisation targets while delivering a new and resilient economy.
Pioneering projects such as H21 North of England, led by Northern Gas Networks, in partnership with Cadent and international energy company Equinor, are helping to lay a foundation and vision for government to set its long-term approach to deep decarbonisation of heat.
Launching next month, the H21 North of England report presents a detailed engineering solution for converting the gas networks across the north of England to hydrogen, including building a hydrogen production facility that can deliver low-carbon heat for major cities including Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield, York, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Teeside.
The report will outline how we can achieve deep decarbonisation of heat by converting around one in five of the UK’s domestic properties from natural gas (methane) to clean hydrogen, representing 85TWh of annual heat demand. It will include details on intra-seasonal hydrogen storage, plans for a carbon capture and storage facility with capacity to sequester up to 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2035 and details on how a hydrogen transmission system can support a hydrogen network.
H21 North of England comes a
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