f HyDeploy2 Project: Winlaton Trial Report

The HyDeploy project seeks to address a key issue for UK customers and UK energy policy makers: how to reduce the carbon emitted from heating homes. The UK has a world class gas distribution grid delivering heat conveniently and safely to over 83% of homes. Emissions can be reduced by lowering the carbon content of gas through blending with hydrogen. This delivers carbon savings, without customers requiring disruptive and expensive changes in their homes. It also provides the platform for deeper carbon savings by enabling wider adoption of hydrogen across the energy system. HyDeploy has previously delivered a successful trial demonstrations of repurposing existing UK distribution gas networks (Keele University) to operate on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen (up to 20% mol/mol) showing that carbon savings can be made through the gas networks today whilst continuing to meet the needs of gas consumers without introducing any disruptions.
The ultimate objective of the HyDeploy programme is to see the roll-out of hydrogen blends across the GB gas distribution network, unlocking 35 TWh pa of low carbon heat - the equivalent of removing 2.5 million fossil-fuelled cars off the roads. To achieve this, the next phase of the programme is to address the remaining evidence gaps that had not been covered by the trial demonstration programmes.
The demonstrations have focussed on the low and medium pressure tiers of the gas distribution network (i.e., injecting into a 2 bar gauge pressure network and distributing the blended gas down to the low pressure network and into people’s homes and commercial buildings and businesses) and predominantly serving domestic appliances.
The remainder of the HyDeploy2 programme will generate an evidence base for GB’s gas distribution network, which includes demonstrating the suitability of using hydrogen blended gas in the fields of industrial and commercial users and the performance of materials, assets and procedures on the higher pressure tiers (i.e., 7 bar gauge operation and above).
This report captures the details of the Winlaton trial and provides a future look to how the UK can transition from successful hydrogen blending trials to roll-out.