United Kingdom

In the present work the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code ADREA-HF has been applied to simulate the very recent liquefied hydrogen spill experiments performed by the Health Safety Laboratory (HSL). The experiment consists of four LH2 release trials over concrete at a fixed rate of 60 lt/min but with different release direction height and duration. In the modeling the hydrogen source was treated as a two phase jet enabling simultaneous modeling of pool formation spreading as well as hydrogen vapor dispersion. Turbulence was modeled with the standard k- model modified for buoyancy effects. The effect of solidification of the atmospheric humidity was taken into account. The predicted concentration at the experimental sensors? locations was compared with the observed one. The results from the comparison of the predicted concentration with and without solidification of the atmospheric humidity indicate that the released heat from the solidification affects significantly the buoyant behavior of the hydrogen vapor. Therefore the simulation with solidification of the atmospheric humidity is in better agreement with the experiment.

This paper presents a compilation of the results supplied by HySafe partners participating in the Standard Benchmark Exercise Problem (SBEP) V2 which is based on an experiment on hydrogen combustion that is first described. A list of the results requested from participants is also included. The main characteristics of the models used for the calculations are compared in a very succinct way by using tables. The comparison between results together with the experimental data when available is made through a series of graphs. The results show quite good agreement with the experimental data. The calculations have demonstrated to be sensitive to computational domain size and far field boundary condition.

This Energy Insight examines the current regulatory framework and challenges facing the natural gas industry (producers transporters suppliers and consumers) during the transition to a zero-carbon economy.  The EU has declared its intention to be climate neutral by 2050 which means that the current level of natural gas usage will no longer be possible. However natural gas is a crucial component of energy supply representing 24 per cent of primary energy supply for the EU27+UK and 36 per cent of residential energy consumption. In some countries the use of natural gas is much higher – around 40 per cent of primary energy supply in Netherlands UK and Italy. The current framework impacting gas addresses two different market failures – natural monopolies for gas transportation and the externalities of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The framework will not deliver decarbonisation of gas as it does not stimulate either supply or demand for alternatives such as hydrogen nor create the conditions to enable gas networks to transition to a decarbonised future. Policy makers need to prioritise their objectives to take account of the trade-offs involved in designing a new framework. Exclusion of certain low carbon technologies risks driving away investors and reduces the chances of targets being met whilst “picking winners” involves risks because of the many uncertainties involved such as future costs and time required to build new value chains.

Link to Document on Oxford Institute for Energy Studies website

Metal alloys have become a ubiquitous choice as catalysts for electrochemical hydrogen evolution in alkaline media. However scarce and expensive Pt remains the key electrocatalyst in acidic electrolytes making the search for earth-abundant and cheaper alternatives important. Herein we present a facile and efficient synthetic route towards polycrystalline Co₃Mo and Co₇Mo₆ alloys. The single-phased nature of the alloys is confirmed by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. When electrochemically tested they achieve competitively low overpotentials of 115 mV (Co₃Mo ) and 160 mV (Co₇Mo₆ ) at 10 mA cm⁻² in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 120 mV (Co₃Mo ) and 160 mV (Co₇Mo₆ ) at 10 mA cm⁻² in 1 M KOH. Both alloys outperform Co and Mo metals which showed significantly higher overpotentials and lower current densities when tested under identical conditions confirming the synergistic effect of the alloying. However the low overpotential in Co₃Mo comes at the price of stability. It rapidly becomes inactive when tested under applied potential bias. On the other hand Co7Mo6 retains the current density over time without evidence of current decay. The findings demonstrate that even in free-standing form and without nanostructuring polycrystalline bimetallic electrocatalysts could challenge the dominance of Pt in acidic media if ways for improving their stability were found.

Adding hydrogen to mains natural gas has been identified as one of the main strategies to reduce CO2 emissions in the United Kingdom. This work aims to characterise the explosion severity of 80:20 v./v. methane/hydrogen blends (‘a blend’) and methane vented deflagrations. The explosion severity of homogenous mixtures was measured in a 15 m3 cubic steel chamber in which the relief area was provided by four windows and a door covered with polypropylene sheet. The pressure increase over time was characterised using piezo-resistive pressure transducers and the flame speed was estimated using ionisation probes installed in the walls of the enclosure. The explosion severity of both mixtures was determined for different equivalence ratios from lean to rich mixtures. The pressure over time presented very similar behaviour for both mixtures comprising multiple peaks divided into three main stages: a first stage related to a spherical confined explosion until the opening of the vent a second stage generated by increased combustion during venting and an oscillatory peak generated by acoustic disturbances with the enclosure. A slight increase in the first stage overpressure was observed for the blend in comparison with methane regardless of the equivalence ratio but no general trend in pressure was observed for other stages of the propagation. The effect of the blockage ratio on explosion severity was studied by adding metallic elements representing furniture in a room.

Renewable methanol obtained from CO₂ and hydrogen provided from renewable energy was proposed to close the CO₂ loop. In industry methanol synthesis using the catalyst CuO/ZnO/Al₂O₃ occurs at a high pressure. We intend to make certain modification on the traditional catalyst to work at lower pressure maintaining high selectivity. Therefore three heterogeneous catalysts were synthesized by coprecipitation to improve the activity and the selectivity to methanol under mild conditions of temperature and pressure. Certain modifications on the traditional catalyst Cu/Zn/Al₂O₃ were employed such as the modification of the synthesis time and the addition of Pd as a dopant agent. The most efficient catalyst among those tested was a palladium-doped catalyst 5% Pd/Cu/Zn/Al₂O₃. This had a selectivity of 64% at 210 °C and 5 bar.

Automotive proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have finally reached a state of technological readiness where several major automotive companies are commercially leasing and selling fuel cell electric vehicles including Toyota Honda and Hyundai. These now claim vehicle speed and acceleration refueling time driving range and durability that rival conventional internal combustion engines and in most cases outperform battery electric vehicles. The residual challenges and areas of improvement which remain for PEMFCs are performance at high current density durability and cost. These are expected to be resolved over the coming decade while hydrogen infrastructure needs to become widely available. Here we briefly discuss the status of automotive PEMFCs misconceptions about the barriers that platinum usage creates and the remaining hurdles for the technology to become broadly accepted and implemented.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier is very versatile in energy storage applications. Developments in novel sustainable technologies towards a CO2-free society are needed and the exploration of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) as well as solid-state hydrogen storage applications based on metal hydrides can provide solutions for such technologies. However there are still many technical challenges for both hydrogen storage material and ASSBs related to designing low-cost materials with low-environmental impact. The current materials considered for all-solid-state batteries should have high conductivities for Na+ Mg2+ and Ca2+ while Al3+-based compounds are often marginalised due to the lack of suitable electrode and electrolyte materials. In hydrogen storage materials the sluggish kinetic behaviour of solid-state hydride materials is one of the key constraints that limit their practical uses. Therefore it is necessary to overcome the kinetic issues of hydride materials before discussing and considering them on the system level. This review summarizes the achievements of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) innovative training network (ITN) ECOSTORE the aim of which was the investigation of different aspects of (complex) metal hydride materials. Advances in battery and hydrogen storage materials for the efficient and compact storage of renewable energy production are discussed.

Marine transport has been essential for international trade. Concern for its environmental impact was growing among regulators classification societies ship operators ship owners and other stakeholders. By applying life cycle assessment this article aimed to assess the impact of a new-build hybrid system (i.e. an electric power system which incorporated lithium ion batteries photovoltaic systems and cold-ironing) designed for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo ships. The study was carried out based on a bottom-up integrated system approach using the optimised operational profile and background information for manufacturing processes mass breakdown and end of life management plans. Resources such as metallic and non-metallic materials and energy required for manufacture operation maintenance dismantling and scrap handling were estimated. During operation 1.76 x 10^8 kg of marine diesel oil was burned releasing carbon monoxide carbon dioxide particulate matter hydrocarbons nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide which ranged 5–8 orders of magnitude. The operation of diesel gensets was the primary cause of impact categories that were relevant to particulate matter or respiratory inorganic health issues photochemical ozone creation eutrophication acidification global warming and human toxicity. Disposing metallic scrap was accountable for the most significant impact category ecotoxicity potential. The environmental benefits of the hybrid power system in most impact categories were verified in comparison with a conventional power system onboard cargo ships. The estimated results for individual impact categories were verified using scenario analysis. The study concluded that the life cycle of a new-build hybrid power system would result in significant impact on the environment human beings and natural reserves and therefore proper management of such a system was imperative.

In this report a 5 kW PEFC system running on dry hydrogen with an appropriately sized Balance of Plant (BoP) was used to conduct experimental studies and analyses of gas supply subsystems. The improper rating and use of BoP components has been found to increase parasitic loads which consequently has a direct effect on the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) system efficiency. Therefore the minimisation of parasitic loads while maintaining desired performance is crucial. Nevertheless little has been found in the literature regarding experimental work on large stacks and BoP with the majority of papers concentrating on modelling. A particular interest of our study was the anode side of the fuel cell. Additionally the rationale behind the use of hydrogen anode recirculation was scrutinised and a novel anode purging strategy was developed and implemented. Through experimental modelling the use of cathode air blower was minimised since it was found to be the biggest contributor to the parasitic loads.

There is a large literature exploring possible hydrogen futures using various modelling and scenario approaches. This paper compares the rates of transition depicted in that literature with a set of historical analogies. These analogies are cases in which alternative-fuelled vehicles have penetrated vehicle markets. The paper suggests that the literature has tended to be optimistic about the possible rate at which hydrogen vehicles might replace oil-based transportation. The paper compares 11 historical adoptions of alternative fuel vehicles with 24 scenarios from 20 studies that depict possible hydrogen futures. All but one of the hydrogen scenarios show vehicle adoption faster than has occurred for hybrid electric vehicles in Japan the most successful market for hybrids. Several scenarios depict hydrogen transitions occurring at a rate faster than has occurred in any of the historic examples. The paper concludes that scenarios of alternative vehicle adoption should include more pessimistic scenarios alongside optimistic ones.

The catalytic steam reforming of biodiesel was examined over Ni-alumina and Ni–ceria–zirconia catalysts at atmospheric pressure. Effects of temperatures of biodiesel preheating/vaporising (190–365 ◦C) and reforming (600–800 ◦C) molar steam to carbon ratio (S/C = 2–3) and residence time in the reformer represented by the weight hourly space velocity ‘WHSV’ of around 3 were examined for 2 h. Ni supported on calcium aluminate and on ceria–zirconia supports achieved steady state hydrogen product stream within 90% of the equilibrium yields although 4% and 1% of the carbon feed had deposited on the catalysts respectively during the combined conditions of start-up and steady state. Addition of dopants to ceria–zirconia supported catalyst decreased the performance of the catalyst. Increase in S/C ratio had the expected positive effects of higher H2 yield and lower carbon deposition.

Of all the sectors in the UK decarbonising heat remains one of the most challenging. Heat used for industrial domestic and commercial purposes generates around a third of all UK carbon emissions 70% of which is due to burning natural gas. In order to meet our legally binding national climate change targets unabated natural gas use for heat must be phased out. Low carbon gas - including hydrogen and biogases - is one option to replace it. The Future Gas Series examines the opportunities and challenges associated with using low carbon gas to help decarbonise the UK economy.<br/><br/>This is the second report in the three-part Future Gas Series. Part 1: Next Steps for the Gas Grid explored the potential to decarbonise the existing gas grid. The report Part 2: the Production of Low Carbon Gas focuses on the issues related to the production of low carbon gas. It considers the different production technologies the potential scale of deployment of each method and the potential feedstocks. It also discusses issues related to bulk transport and storage of gas. Put together from expert evidence from across industry and academia it provides a balanced guide for policy makers in this area. It was a co-chaired by James Heappey MP (Conservative) Alan Whitehead MP (Labour) and Alistair Carmichael MP (SNP).<br/><br/>Carbon Connect suggests that biogases- such as biomethane and bioSNG- provide low regrets opportunities in the near term to provide low carbon heat and could also potentially make use of waste that would otherwise go to landfill.  However they require further support to allow them to continue contributing to decarbonising the UK economy. Hydrogen could provide huge decarbonisation opportunities and has applications across the energy system from putting hydrogen in the gas grid to be burnt for heat in homes to hydrogen buses and trains. However to realise this potential a market for hydrogen must be built up. This should incentivise business to invest in hydrogen technologies reward those who use hydrogen and build up hydrogen infrastructure.<br/><br/>

Hot water and space heating account for about 80% of total energy consumption in the residential sector in the UK. It is thus crucial to decarbonise residential heating to achieve UK's 2050 greenhouse gas reduction targets. However the decarbonisation transitions determined by most techno-economic energy system models might be too optimistic or misleading for relying on cost minimisation alone and not considering households' preferences for different heating technologies. This study thus proposes a novel framework to incorporate heterogeneous households' (HHs) preferences into the modelling process of the UK TIMES model. The incorporated preferences for HHs are based on a nationwide survey on homeowners' choices of heating technologies. Preference constraints are then applied to regulate the HHs' choices of heating technologies to reflect the survey results. Consequently compared to the least cost transition pathway the preference-driven pathway adopts heating technologies gradually without abrupt increases of market shares. Heat pumps and electric heaters are deployed much less than in the cost optimal result. Extensive district heating using low-carbon fuels and conservation measures should thus be deployed to provide flexibility for decarbonisation. The proposed framework can also incorporate preferences for other energy consumption technologies and be applied to other linear programming based energy system models.

Last year the Prime Minister set out his 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution laying the foundations for a green economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19 with the UK at the forefront of the growing global green economy.

This strategy builds on that approach to keep us on track for UK carbon budgets our 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution and net zero by 2050. It includes:

• our decarbonisation pathways to net zero by 2050 including illustrative scenarios 
• policies and proposals to reduce emissions for each sector 
• cross-cutting action to support the transition. 

The government response to the 2021 Committee on Climate Change (CCC) progress report to Parliament in reducing UK emissions is published alongside this strategy. It will set out our progress over the last 12 months and addresses the latest CCC recommendations. The Net Zero Strategy will be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as the UK’s second Long-Term Low Greenhouse Gas Emission Development Strategy under the Paris Agreement.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic UK passed net-zero emission law legislation to become the first major economy in the world to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. Following the UK’s legislation to reach net-zero emissions a long-term strategy for transition to a net-zero target was published in 2021. The strategy is a technology-led and with a top-down approach. The intention is to reach the target over the next three decades. The document targets seven sectors to reduce emissions and include a wide range of policies and innovations for decarbonization. This paper aims to accomplish a much needed review of the strategy in heat and buildings part and cover the key related areas in future buildings standard heat pumps and use of hydrogen as elaborated in the strategy. For that purpose this research reviews key themes in the policy challenges recent advancement and future possibilities. It provides an insight on the overall development toward sustainability and decarbonization of built environment in the UK by 2050. A foresight model Future Wheels is also used to visualize the findings from the review and provide a clear picture of the potential impact of the policy.

The UK is investigating supplying hydrogen to homes and businesses instead of natural gas by “repurposing” the gas network. It presents a major engineering challenge which has never been done anywhere else in the world.

In a new report titled ‘Transitioning to hydrogen’ experts from a cross-professional engineering institution (PEI) working group including the IET have assessed the engineering risks and uncertainties and concluded there is no reason why repurposing the gas network to hydrogen cannot be achieved. But there are several engineering risks and uncertainties which need to be addressed.

Many railway vehicles use diesel as their energy source but exhaust emissions and concerns about economical fuel supply demand alternatives. Railway electrification is not cost effective for some routes particularly low-traffic density regional lines. The journey of a regional diesel–electric train is simulated over the British route Birmingham Moor Street to Stratford-upon-Avon and return to establish a benchmark for the conceptual design of a hydrogen-powered and hydrogen-hybrid vehicle. A fuel cell power plant compressed hydrogen at 350 and 700 bar and metal-hydride storage are evaluated. All equipment required for the propulsion can be accommodated within the space of the original diesel– electric train while not compromising passenger-carrying capacity if 700 bar hydrogen tanks are employed. The hydrogen trains are designed to meet the benchmark journey time of 94 min and the operating range of a day without refuelling. An energy consumption reduction of 34% with the hydrogen-powered vehicle and a decrease of 55% with the hydrogen-hybrid train are achieved compared with the original diesel–electric. The well-to-wheel carbon dioxide emissions are lower for the conceptual trains: 55% decrease for the hydrogen-powered and 72% reduction for the hydrogen-hybrid assuming that the hydrogen is produced from natural gas.

Combustion of hydrogen or hydrogen containing blends in gas turbines and industrial combustors can activate thermoacoustic combustion instabilities. Convective instabilities are an important and yet less investigated class of combustion instability that are caused by the so called “entropy waves”. As a major shortcoming the partial decay of these convective-diffusive waves in the post-flame region of combustors is still largely unexplored. This paper therefore presents an investigation of the annihilating effects due to hydrodynamics heat transfer and flow stretch upon the nozzle response. The classical compact analysis is first extended to include the decay of entropy waves and heat transfer from the nozzle. Amplitudes and phase shifts of the responding acoustical waves are then calculated for subcritical and supercritical nozzles subject to acoustic and entropic forcing. A relation for the stretch of entropy wave in the nozzle is subsequently developed. It is shown that heat transfer and hydrodynamic decay can impart considerable effects on the entropic response of the nozzle. It is further shown that the flow stretching effects are strongly frequency dependent. The results indicate that dissipation and dispersion of entropy waves can significantly influence their conversion to sound and therefore should be included in the entropy wave models.

This is a transcript of the discussion session on the effects of hydrogen in the non-ferrous alloys of zirconium and titanium which are anisotropic hydride-forming metals. The four talks focus on the hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms that affect zirconium and titanium components which are respectively used in the nuclear and aerospace industries. Two specific mechanisms are delayed hydride cracking and stress corrosion cracking.

This article is a transcription of the recorded discussion of the session ‘Hydrogen in non-ferrous alloys’ at the Royal Society Discussion Meeting Challenges of Hydrogen in Metals 16–18 January 2017. The text is approved by the contributors. M.P. transcribed the session. M.A.S. assisted in the preparation of the manuscript.

Link to document download on Royal Society Website 

The Hydrogen Taskforce welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Business Energy and

Industrial Strategy Committee’s inquiry into post-pandemic economic growth.

It is the Taskforce’s view that:

• Due to its various applications hydrogen is critical for the UK to reach net zero by 2050;
• The UK holds world-class advantages in hydrogen production distribution and application;
• Other economies are moving ahead in the development of this sector and the UK must respond;
• The post pandemic economic recovery planning should reflect the need to achieve deep decarbonisation and support wider objectives such as achieving net zero and levelling up the
• economy; and 
• The hydrogen sector is well-placed to play a key role in the UK’s economic recovery with the right policies and financial structures in place.

The Taskforce has defined a set of policy recommendations for Government which are designed to ensure that hydrogen can scale to meet the future demands of a net zero energy system:

• Development of a cross departmental UK Hydrogen Strategy within UK Government;
• Commit £1bn of capex funding over the next spending review period to hydrogen production storage and distribution projects;
• Develop a financial support scheme for the production of hydrogen in blending industry power and transport;
• Amend Gas Safety Management Regulations (GSMR) to enable hydrogen blending and take the next steps towards 100 per cent hydrogen heating through supporting public trials and
• mandating 100 per cent hydrogen-ready boilers by 2025; and
• Commit to the support of 100 Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) by 2025 to support the rollout of hydrogen transport.

You can download the whole document from the Hydrogen Taskforce website here

The development of new infrastructure is often a consideration in the introduction of new innovations. Currently there is some confusion around how to develop a hydrogen infrastructure to support the introduction of FCVs. Lessons can be learned from similar technology introduction in the past and therefore this paper investigates how mobile phone infrastructure was developed allowing the mass-market penetration of mobile phones. Based on this successful infrastructural development suggestions can be made on the development of a hydrogen infrastructure. It is suggested that a hydrogen infrastructure needs to be pre-developed 3–5 years before the market introduction of FCVs can successfully occur. A lack of infrastructural pre-development will cause to the market introduction of FCVs to fail.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges faced by hydrocarbon exporters in the Gulf owing to the global push to transition to cleaner energy sources.  In this podcast Manal Shehabi (OIES) discusses with David Ledesma a recent OIES-KFAS workshop held in April 2021 titled “Energy Transition Post-Pandemic in the Gulf States” held with support from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).  They discuss separate but interrelated issues on clean energy economic and climate sustainability and hydrogen.  Specially they examine how the global energy transition outlook has changed post-pandemic along with its impacts on Gulf States’ economies and energy transition projects.  They explain implications to Gulf states’ sustainability evaluating whether these countries are fiscally sustainable post-pandemic and their urgent need for energy and economic diversification.  They focus in on the possibility of the Gulf States’ using hydrogen to diversify both in domestic and export markets evaluating opportunities and challenges for both blue and green hydrogen.  A preliminary case study on the economics of hydrogen in Kuwait is highlighted as indication of whether Gulf states can produce green hydrogen competitively.  They conclude with policy recommendations to increase economic sustainability and resilience post-pandemic both through the energy transition and responses to it.

The podcast can be found on their website

Determination of the behaviour of hydrogen when leaking from pipework on gas distribution assets is essential in assessing the comparative risk associated with using pure hydrogen in place of natural gas in existing assets. Experimental work considering the behaviour of gaseous hydrogen when released in large volumes from gas distribution pipework at pressures of up to 7 barg through holes of up to 200mm in diameter in both buried and unburied scenarios is currently underway. The present paper presents and briefly discusses the results from a set of ignited 20mm diameter releases of hydrogen at pressures up to 7 barg vertically upwards from a pipe in an open excavation. Gaseous releases which find a direct route to atmosphere have the potential to create significant volumes of flammable gas and subsequently significant fires in the case of ignition. It is important to understand both the dispersion distances and thermal hazard field to be able to understand the comparative risk posed when compared to natural gas releases in similar situations. Results of current work completed to date are presented alongside comparisons with known properties of natural gas releases and the potential implications to the comparative risk of hydrogen network operation. The work has been conducted at the DNV GL Spadeadam Testing and Research Centre UK as part of the UK Gas Distribution Networks and Ofgem National Innovation Competition funded H21 project.

The EU and a number of its member states have now published hydrogen strategies and Europe continues to lead the way in the decarbonisation of its gas sector. In this latest OIES Energy Podcast James Henderson talks with Martin Lambert and Simon Schulte about their latest paper entitled “Contrasting European Hydrogen Pathways” which examines the plans in six major EU countries. They discuss the outlook for various forms of hydrogen supply contrasting the potential for green hydrogen from renewable energy with the outlook for blue hydrogen using steam-reforming of methane as well as hydrogen generated from surplus nuclear energy. They also examine the potential sources of demand considering existing use of hydrogen in industrial processes as well as the potential for hydrogen to displace hydrocarbons in the steel and cement industries. Finally the podcast also looks at the potential for imports of hydrogen and its distribution within Europe while also considering some key milestones that can provide indicators of how the region’s hydrogen plans are playing out.

The podcast can be found on their website

The main purpose of this report is to specify the minimum standards of control which should be in place at all establishments storing large volumes of gasoline.<br/>The PSLG also considered other substances capable of giving rise to a large flammable vapour cloud in the event of a loss of primary containment. However to ensure priority was given to improving standards of control to tanks storing gasoline PSLG has yet to determine the scale and application of this guidance to such substances. It is possible that a limited number of other substances (with specific physical properties and storage arrangements) will be addressed in the future.<br/>This report also provides guidance on good practice in relation to secondary and tertiary containment for facilities covered by the CA Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Parts of this guidance may also be relevant to other major hazard establishments.

Hydrogen is essential to the UK meeting its net zero emissions target. We must act now to scale hydrogen solutions and achieve cost effective deep decarbonisation. With the support of Government UK industry is ready to deliver.

The potential to deploy hydrogen at scale as an energy vector has risen rapidly in the political and industrial consciousness in recent years as the benefits and opportunities have become better understood. Early stage projects across the globe have demonstrated the potential of hydrogen to deliver deep decarbonisation reduce the cost of renewable power and balance energy supply and demand. Governments and major industrial and commercial organisations across the world have set out their ambition to deploy hydrogen technologies at scale. This has created a growing confidence that hydrogen will present both a viable decarbonisation pathway and a global market opportunity. Hydrogen will have an important role to play in meeting the global climate goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement and due to be discussed later this year at COP26.

The UK’s commitment to a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target has sharpened the conversation around hydrogen. Most experts agree that net zero by 2050 cannot be achieved through electrification alone and as such there is a need for a clean molecule to complement the electron. Hydrogen has properties which lend themselves to the decarbonisation of parts of the energy system which are less well suited to electrification such as industrial processes heating and heavy and highly utilised vehicles. Hydrogen solutions can be scaled meaning that the contribution of hydrogen to meeting net zero could be substantial.

A steady start has been made to exploring the hydrogen opportunity. Partnerships between policymakers and industry exist on several projects which are spread out right across the country from London to many industrial areas in the north east and north west. Existing projects include the early stage roll out of transport infrastructure and vehicles feasibility studies focused on large scale hydrogen production technologies projects exploring the decarbonisation of the gas grid and the development of hydrogen appliances.

The Government recently announced new funding for hydrogen through the Hydrogen Supply Programme and Industrial Fuel Switching Competition. These programmes are excellent examples of collaboration between Government and industry in driving UK leadership in hydrogen and developing solutions that will be critical for meeting net zero.

If the UK is going to meet net zero and capitalise on the economic growth opportunities presented by domestic and global markets for hydrogen solutions and expertise it is critical that the 2020s deliver a step change in hydrogen activity building on the unique strengths and expertise developed during early stage technology development.

The Hydrogen Taskforce brings together leading companies pushing hydrogen into the mainstream in the UK to offer a shared view of the opportunity and a collective position on the next steps that must be taken to ensure that the UK capitalises on this opportunity. There are questions to be answered and challenges that must be overcome as hydrogen technologies develop yet by focusing on what can be done today the benefits of hydrogen can be immediately realised whilst industry expertise and knowledge is built.

You can download the whole document from the Hydrogen Taskforce website here

The Hydrogen Taskforce welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into Hydrogen. It is the Taskforce’s view that:

• Due to its various applications hydrogen is critical for the UK to reach net zero by 2050;
• The UK holds world-class advantages in hydrogen production distribution and application; and
• Other economies are moving ahead in the development of this sector and the UK must respond.

The Taskforce has defined a set of policy recommendations for Government which are designed to ensure that hydrogen can scale to meet the future demands of a net zero energy system:

• Development of a cross departmental UK Hydrogen Strategy within UK Government;
• Commit £1bn of capex funding over the next spending review period to hydrogen production storage and distribution projects;
• Develop a financial support scheme for the production of hydrogen in blending industry power and transport;
• Amend Gas Safety Management Regulations (GSMR) to enable hydrogen blending and take the next steps towards 100% hydrogen heating through supporting public trials and mandating 100% hydrogen-ready boilers by 2025; and
• Commit to the support of 100 Hydrogen Refuelling Stations (HRS) by 2025 to support the roll-out of hydrogen transport.

You can download the whole document from the Hydrogen Taskforce website here 

Research to date has identified cost and lack of support from stakeholders as two key barriers to the development of a carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) industry that is capable of effectively mitigating climate change. This paper responds to these challenges through systematic evaluation of the research and development process for the Acorn CCS project a project designed to develop a scalable full-chain CCS project on the north-east coast of the UK. Through assessment of Acorn's publicly-available outputs we identify strategies which may help to enhance the viability of early-stage CCS projects. Initial capital costs can be minimised by infrastructure re-use particularly pipelines and by re-use of data describing the subsurface acquired during oil and gas exploration activity. Also development of the project in separate stages of activity (e.g. different phases of infrastructure re-use and investment into new infrastructure) enables cost reduction for future build-out phases. Additionally engagement of regional-level policy makers may help to build stakeholder support by situating CCS within regional decarbonisation narratives. We argue that these insights may be translated to general objectives for any CCS project sharing similar characteristics such as legacy infrastructure industrial clusters and an involved stakeholder-base that is engaged with the fossil fuel industry.

Transitioning to Hydrogen a joint report from five engineering organisations focuses on the engineering challenges of replacing natural gas in the gas distribution network with hydrogen in order to reduce emissions. The production of this report is timely following the commitment from Government this week to legislate for net zero emissions by 2050. It is expected that hydrogen will play a big part in the reduction of emissions from the heating transport and industrial sectors.<br/><br/>The report concludes that there is no reason why repurposing the gas network to hydrogen cannot be achieved but there are some engineering risks and uncertainties that need to be addressed. In the development of the report many questions were posed and members of IMechE IChemE IET and IGEM were surveyed to better understand the challenges faced by the hydrogen production and gas industries planning to undertake this ambitious transition. Further information was obtained from the Health and Safety Laboratories.<br/><br/>The report also highlights 20 ongoing projects in the UK that are looking at various aspects of hydrogen production distribution and use.

Transition metal carbides are a class of materials widely known for both their interesting physical properties and catalytic activity. In this work we have used plane-wave DFT methods to study the interaction with increasing amounts of molecular hydrogen on the low-index surfaces of four major carbides – TiC VC ZrC and NbC. Adsorption is found to be generally exothermic and occurs predominantly on the surface carbon atoms. We identify trends over the carbides and their surfaces for the energetics of the adsorption as a function of their electronic and geometrical characteristics. An ab initio thermodynamics formalism is used to study the properties of the slabs as the hydrogen coverage is increased.

Over the next decade and beyond the UK is set to take significant steps towards a new energy economy. This will be an economy where the technologies meeting<br/>our electricity heat and fuel needs have to deliver against three key criteria: sustainability security and affordability.<br/><br/>In this context a wide range of emerging energy technologies are expected to play an important role in reshaping the way we satisfy our energy requirements. The extent to which they do so however will depend fundamentally on their ability to be harnessed safely.<br/><br/>Compiled by HSE’s Emerging Energy Technologies Programme this report provides a current assessment of the health and safety hazards that key emerging energy technologies could pose both to workers and to the public at large. (Nuclear energy technologies fall outside the scope of this report.) But it also highlights how an appropriate framework can be and is being put in place to help ensure that these hazards are managed and controlled effectively – an essential<br/>element in enabling the technologies to make a major contribution to the UK’s energy future.

As the world looks to recover from the impact of coronavirus on our lives livelihoods and economies we have the chance to build back better: to invest in making the UK a global leader in green technologies.

The plan focuses on increasing ambition in the following areas:

• advancing offshore wind
• driving the growth of low carbon hydrogen
• delivering new and advanced nuclear power
• accelerating the shift to zero emission vehicles
• green public transport cycling and walking
• ‘jet zero’ and green ships
• greener buildings
• investing in carbon capture usage and storage
• protecting our natural environment
• green finance and innovation

The ten point plan will mobilise £12 billion of government investment and potentially 3 times as much from the private sector to create and support up to 250000 green jobs.

The appetite for a ‘hydrogen market’ has been growing in the past year or two and is often called a ‘market’ by governments regulators and other energy industry players. The question is what ‘hydrogen market’ are they referring to as there is currently no such market established? In this podcast David Ledesma talks to Patrick Heather Senior Research Fellow at the OIES and discusses how a future traded hydrogen market might develop what the prerequisites would be for the development of a wholesale market and whether there are lessons to be learned from the development of the European natural gas market. The podcast ends up by asking the fundamental question – If the European gas market took 25-30 years to liberalise and develop a liquid traded pricing hub where are we headed with hydrogen? Will we ever see a traded market in hydrogen and what must happen to get there? Patrick is cautiously optimistic in his response!

The podcast can be found on their website

Hydrogen injection into the GB gas network is a likely consequence of using excess offshore wind generated electricity to power large-scale onshore electrolysis plants. Government and DECC in particular now have a keen interest in supporting technologies that can take advantage of the continued use of the gas networks. HSE can contribute to the government’s Growth and Green agendas by effectively regulating and safely enabling this technology.

This report will allow HSE to regulate effectively by pulling together scientific and engineering knowledge regarding the hazards of conveying hydrogen/methane mixtures in network pipes and its use in consumer appliances into a single ‘state-of-play’ report. It enables Energy Division to consider and assess submissions for ‘gas quality’ exemptions to the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (GSMR).

In particular the report has examined the following hazards:

• conveyance of H2/CH4 mixtures in network pipes
• use of H2/CH4 mixtures in consumer appliances (domestic/commercial/industrial)
• explosion and damage characteristics (and ignition likelihood) of H2/CH4 mixtures
• effects on odourisation

It identifies that the flame profile in gas appliances will increasingly flatten as hydrogen content rises. For modern appliances fitted with flame failure devices this may cause the appliance to shut down (and default to a safe condition). For some older types of gas appliance (1970s and older) not fitted with flame failure devices there may be an increased risk of flame failure leading to internal gas escapes. At the concentrations of hydrogen in methane likely to be considered by the industry (between 0.5 and 10%) this effect is not significant. Where exemptions for higher concentrations are sought HSE will insist on the identification and modification of vulnerable appliances. The report concludes that concentrations of hydrogen in methane of up to 20% by volume are unlikely to increase risk from within the gas network for from gas appliances to consumers or members of the public.

The current requirements for composite cylinders are still based on an arbitrary approach derived from the behaviour of metal structures that the designed burst pressure should be at least 2.5 times the maximum in-service pressure. This could lead to an over-designed composite cylinder for which the weight saving would be less than optimum. Moreover predicting the lifetime of composite cylinders is a challenging task due to their anisotropic characteristics. A federal research institute in Germany (BAM) has proposed a minimum load-cycle requirement that mitigates this issue by using a MonteCarlo analysis of the burst test results. To enrich this study more experiments are required however they are normally limited by the necessity of long duration testing times (loading rate and number of cylinders) and the design (stacking sequence of the composite layer). A multi-scale model incorporating the micromechanical behaviour of composite structures has been developed at Mines ParisTech. The model has shown similar behaviour to that of composite cylinders under different loading rates. This indicates that the model could assist the Monte-Carlo analysis study. An evaluation of the multi-scale model therefore has been carried out to determine its limitations in predicting lifetimes of composite cylinders. The evaluation starts with the comparison of burst pressures with type IV composite cylinders under different loading rates. A μCT-Scan of a type IV cylinder has been carried out at the University of Southampton. The produced images were analysed using the Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT) technique to determine the configuration of the composite layers which is required by the model. Finally the time dependent effect studied by using the multi scale model has been described. In the long-term this study can be used to conduct a parametric study for creating more efficient design of type IV cylinders.

Hydrogen remains an important option for long-term decarbonisation of energy and transport systems. However studying the possible transition paths and development prospects for a hydrogen energy system is challenging. The long-term nature of technological transitions inevitably means profound uncertainties diverging perspectives and contested priorities. Both modelling approaches and narrative storyline scenarios are widely used to explore the possible future of hydrogen energy but each approach has shortcomings.<br/>This paper presents a hybrid approach to assessing hydrogen transitions in the UK by confronting qualitative socio-technical scenarios with quantitative energy systems modelling through a process of ‘dialogue’ between scenario and model. Three possible transition pathways are explored each exploring different uncertainties and possible decision points. Conclusions are drawn for both the future of hydrogen and on the value of an approach that brings quantitative formal models and narrative scenario techniques into dialogue.

This session contained talks on the characterization of hydrogen-enhanced corrosion of steels and nickel-based alloys emphasizing the different observations across length scales from atomic-scale spectrographic to macro-scale fractographic examinations.

This article is the transcription of the recorded discussion of the session ‘Hydrogen Effects in Corrosion’ at the Royal Society discussion meeting Challenges of Hydrogen and Metals 16–18 January 2017. The text is approved by the contributors. M.A.S. transcribed the session and E.L.S. assisted in the preparation of the manuscript.

Link to document download on Royal Society Website

This paper describes a combined experimental analytical and numerical modelling investigation into hydrogen jet fires in a passively ventilated enclosure. The work was funded by the EU Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking project Hyindoor. It is relevant to situations where hydrogen is stored or used indoors. In such situations passive ventilation can be used to prevent the formation of a flammable atmosphere following a release of hydrogen. Whilst a significant amount of work has been reported on unignited releases in passively ventilated enclosures and on outdoor hydrogen jet fires very little is known about the behaviour of hydrogen jet fires in passively ventilated enclosures. This paper considers the effects of passive ventilation openings on the behaviour of hydrogen jet fires. A series of hydrogen jet fire experiments were carried out using a 31 m3 passively ventilated enclosure. The test programme included subsonic and chocked flow releases with varying hydrogen release rates and vent configurations. In most of the tests the hydrogen release rate was sufficiently low and the vent area sufficiently large to lead to a well-ventilated jet fire. In a limited number of tests the vent area was reduced allowing under-ventilated conditions to be investigated. The behaviour of a jet fire in a passively ventilated enclosure depends on the hydrogen release rate the vent area and the thermal properties of the enclosure. An analytical model was used to quantify the relative importance of the hydrogen release rate and vent area whilst the influence of the thermal properties of the enclosure were investigated using a CFD model. Overall the results indicate that passive ventilation openings that are sufficiently large to safely ventilate an unignited release will tend to be large enough to prevent a jet fire from becoming under-ventilated.

The use of hydrogen as fuel should always be accompanied by a safety assessment in case of an accidental release. To evaluate the potential hazards in a spill accident both experiments and simulations are performed. In the present work the CFD code ADREA-HF is used to simulate the liquefied hydrogen (LH2) spill experiments (test 5 6 7) conducted by the Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL). In these tests LH2 was spilled at a fixed rate of 60lt/min in several directions and for several durations. The factors that influence the vapor dispersion under cryogenic release conditions that were examined in this study are: the air humidity the wind direction and the slip effect of droplets formed by both the cryogenic liquid and the condensation of air humidity. The numerical results were compared with the experimental measurements and the effect of each abovementioned factors in the vapor dispersion is being discussed.

The co-combustion of diesel fuel with H2 presents a promising route to reduce the adverse effects of diesel engine exhaust pollutants on the environment and human health. This paper presents the results of H2-diesel co-combustion experiments carried out on two different research facilities a light duty and a heavy duty diesel engine. For both engines H2 was supplied to the engine intake manifold and aspirated with the intake air. H2 concentrations of up to 20% vol/vol and 8% vol/vol were tested in the light duty and heavy duty engines respectively. Exhaust gas circulation (EGR) was also utilised for some of the tests to control exhaust NOx emissions.<br/>The results showed NOx emissions increase with increasing H2 in the case of the light duty engine however in contrast for the heavy duty engine NOx emissions were stable/reduced slightly with H2 attributable to lower in-cylinder gas temperatures during diffusion-controlled combustion. CO and particulate emissions were observed to reduce as the intake H2 was increased. For the light duty H2 was observed to auto-ignite intermittently before diesel fuel injection had started when the intake H2 concentration was 20% vol/vol. A similar effect was observed in the heavy duty engine at just over 8% H2 concentration.

The Isle of Grain (IoG) presents a technically feasible commercially viable strategic location to build and operate a hydrogen production facility which would be a key enabler to the UK meeting the Net Zero 2050 target.

As highlighted in the ‘Net Zero – The UK’s contribution to stopping global warming’ report published by The Committee on Climate Change in May 2019 hydrogen is set to have a major part to play in reducing UK carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is also seen as essential to support those supplies.

The report further recognises that this will involve increased investments and that CCS and hydrogen will require both capital funding and revenue support.

For hydrogen to have a part to play in the decarbonisation of London and the south east of England a large-scale hydrogen production facility will be required which will provide a multi vector solution through the decarbonisation of the gas grid.

This report and any attachment is freely available on the ENA Smarter Networks Portal here. IGEM Members can download the report and any attachment directly by clicking on the pdf icon above.

We analytically investigated the influence of light hydrocarbons on turbulent premixed H2/air atmospheric flames under lean conditions in view of safe handling of H2 systems applications in H2 powered IC engines and gas turbines and also with an orientation towards modelling of H2 combustion. For this purpose an algebraic flame surface wrinkling model included with pressure and fuel type effects is used. The model predictions of turbulent premixed flames are compared with the set of corresponding experimental data of Kido et al. (Kido Nakahara et al. 2002). These expanding spherical flame data include H2–air mixtures doped with CH4 and C3H8 while the overall equivalence ratio of all the fuel/air mixtures is fixed at 0.8 for constant unstretched laminar flame speed of 25 cm/s by varying N2 composition. The model predictions show that there is little variation in turbulent flame speed ST for C3H8 additions up to 20-vol%. However for 50 vol% doping flame speed decreases by as much as 30 % from 250 cm/s that of pure H2–air mixtures for turbulence intensity of 200 cm/s. With respect to CH4 for 50 vol% doping ST reduces by only 6 % cf. pure H2/air mixture. In the first instance the substantial decrease of ST with C3H8 addition may be attributed to the increase in the Lewis number of the dual-fuel mixture and proportional restriction of molecular mobility of H2. That is this decrease in flame speed can be explained using the concept of leading edges of the turbulent flame brush (Lipatnikov and Chomiak 2005). As these leading edges have mostly positive curvature (convex to the unburned side) preferential-diffusive-thermal instabilities cause recognizable impact on flame speed at higher levels of turbulence with the effect being very strong for lean H2 mixtures. The lighter hydrocarbon substitutions tend to suppress the leading flame edges and possibly transition to detonation in confined structures and promote flame front stability of lean turbulent premixed flames. Thus there is a necessity to develop a predictive reaction model to quantitatively show the strong influence of molecular transport coefficients on ST.

The report makes a recommendation for a minimum hydrogen purity standard to be used by manufacturers developing prototype hydrogen appliances and during their subsequent demonstration as part of the Hy4Heat programme. It makes a recommendation for a hydrogen purity level with the aim that it is reasonable and practicable and considers implications related to hydrogen production the gas network and cost.

This report and any attachment is freely available on the Hy4Heat website here. The report can also be downloaded directly by clicking on the pdf icon above 

The main objectives were to identify materials issues relating to the widespread use of hydrogen as a fuel.

MAIN FINDINGS

• Hydrogen is seen by many as the answer to the environmental problems of reliance on fossil fuels for energy needs. A great deal of effort is currently being invested in research into all areas of the hydrogen economy such as fuel cells hydrogen generation transportation and storage.
• Fuel cells have the potential to provide power for a very wide range of applications ranging from small portable electronics devices to large stationary electricity production and vehicles covering the whole range of road vehicles and possibly extending to rail marine and even aviation.
• The main obstacles to achieving a viable hydrogen economy are costs of producing hydrogen from renewable sources issues relating to transportation and storage due to the low energy density of hydrogen gas and the cost and reliability of fuel cells.
• The main material considerations relating to the use of hydrogen are hydrogen embrittlement material properties at cryogenic temperatures (due to use of liquid hydrogen) and permeability.
• A number of new materials are likely to come to prominence in a hydrogen economy; high performance composites are likely to be used extensively for high pressure hydrogen cylinders new materials or combinations of materials may be used for hydrogen pipelines and a range of new materials are currently being considered for hydrogen storage such as metal hydrides and carbon nanotubes.
• Due to the effect of hydrogen on materials it is important to test any materials in the environment in which they would be used. Depending on the type of test this could require the use of very specialist expensive equipment. 

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) refers to a set of technologies that may offer the potential for large-scale removal of CO₂ emissions from a range of processes – potentially including the generation of electricity and heat industrial processes and the production of hydrogen and synthetic fuels. CCS has both proponents and opponents. Like other emerging low carbon technologies CCS is not without risks or uncertainties and there are various challenges that would need to be overcome if it were to be widely deployed. Policy makers’ decisions as to whether to pursue CCS should be based on a judgement as to whether the risks and uncertainties associated with attempting to deploy CCS outweigh the risks of not having it available as part of a portfolio of mitigation options in future years.

The full report can be found on the Global CSS Institute website at this link

To inform our Sixth Carbon Budget advice the Climate Change Committee (CCC) asked the University of Leeds to undertake independent research to evaluate which policies (and combinations of policies) would enable industrial decarbonisation in line with the UK’s net zero target without inducing carbon leakage. The research focused on policies applicable to the manufacturing sector but with some consideration also given to the policies required to decarbonise the Fossil Fuel Production and Supply and Non-Road Mobile Machinery sectors. This report:

Sets out a comprehensive review of existing policies;

• Identifies future policy mechanisms that address key challenges in decarbonising industry;
• Explores how combinations of policies might work together strategically in the form of ‘policy packages’ and how these packages might evolve over the period to 2050;
• Evaluates a series of illustrative policy packages and considers any complementary policies required to minimise carbon leakage and deliver ‘just’ industrial decarbonisation.
• The findings were developed through a combination of literature review and extensive stakeholder engagement with industry government and academic experts. 

This supported the Sixth Carbon budget.

The paper can be downloaded from the CCC website

Mechanical properties of metals and their alloys are most often determined by interstitial atoms. Hydrogen as one common interstitial element is often found to degrade the fracture behavior and lead to premature or catastrophic failure in a wide range of materials known as hydrogen embrittlement. This topic has been studied for more than a century yet the basic mechanisms of such degradation remain in dispute for many metallic systems. This work attempts to link experimentally and theoretically between failure caused by the presence of hydrogen and second phases lattice distortion and deformation levels.

If the hydrogen economy is to progress more hydrogen fuelling stations are required. In the short term in the absence of a hydrogen distribution network these fuelling stations will have to be supplied by liquid hydrogen road tanker. Such a development will increase the number of tanker offloading operations significantly and these may need to be performed in close proximity to the general public.<br/>The aim of this work is to identify and address hazards relating to the storage and transport of bulk liquid hydrogen (LH2) that are associated with hydrogen refuelling stations located in urban environments. Experimental results will inform the wider hydrogen community and contribute to the development of more robust modelling tools. The results will also help to update and develop guidance for codes and standards.<br/>The first phase of the project was to develop an experimental and modelling strategy for the issues associated with liquid hydrogen spills; this was documented in HSL report XS/10/06[1].<br/>The second phase of the project was to produce a position paper on the hazards of liquid hydrogen which was published in 2009 XS/09/72[2]. This was also published as a HSE research report RR769 in 2010[3].<br/>This report details experiments performed to investigate spills of liquid hydrogen at a rate of 60 litres per minute. Measurements were made on unignited releases which included concentration of hydrogen in air thermal gradient in the concrete substrate liquid pool formation and temperatures within the pool. Computational modelling of the unignited releases has been undertaken at HSL and reported in MSU/12/01 [4]. Ignited releases of hydrogen have also been performed as part of this project; the results and findings from this work are reported in XS/11/77[5].

Metal hydrides are known as a potential efficient low-risk option for high-density hydrogen storage since the late 1970s. In this paper the present status and the future perspectives of the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage are discussed. Since the early 1990s interstitial metal hydrides are known as base materials for Ni – metal hydride rechargeable batteries. For hydrogen storage metal hydride systems have been developed in the 2010s [1] for use in emergency or backup power units i. e. for stationary applications.<br/>With the development and completion of the first submarines of the U212 A series by HDW (now Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems) in 2003 and its export class U214 in 2004 the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage in mobile applications has been established with new application fields coming into focus.<br/>In the last decades a huge number of new intermetallic and partially covalent hydrogen absorbing compounds has been identified and partly more partly less extensively characterized.<br/>In addition based on the thermodynamic properties of metal hydrides this class of materials gives the opportunity to develop a new hydrogen compression technology. They allow the direct conversion from thermal energy into the compression of hydrogen gas without the need of any moving parts. Such compressors have been developed and are nowadays commercially available for pressures up to 200 bar. Metal hydride based compressors for higher pressures are under development. Moreover storage systems consisting of the combination of metal hydrides and high-pressure vessels have been proposed as a realistic solution for on-board hydrogen storage on fuel cell vehicles.<br/>In the frame of the “Hydrogen Storage Systems for Mobile and Stationary Applications” Group in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Hydrogen Task 32 “Hydrogen-based energy storage” different compounds have been and will be scaled-up in the near future and tested in the range of 500 g to several hundred kg for use in hydrogen storage applications.