Publications

Exemption is requested by Northern Gas Networks Ltd (NGN) from the obligation set out in Regulation 8(1) of the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (GSMR) to convey only natural gas that is compliant with the Interchangeability requirements of Part I of Schedule 3 of the GSMR within a section of the NGN gas distribution network near Winlaton (the “field trial area”). The field trial area is owned and operated by Northern Gas Networks Ltd. The proposed conveyance of non-compliant gas (hereafter called the “Winlaton Field Trial”) will last for one year and is part of the Network Innovation Competition Project “HyDeploy2”.<br/>The project the first two phases of which are funded under the UK Network Innovation Competition scheme aims to demonstrate that natural gas containing levels of hydrogen beyond the upper limit set out in Schedule 3 of in the Gas Safety (Management) Regulations (GSMR) can be distributed and utilised safely and efficiently in the UK gas distribution networks. The first phase of the HyDeploy project is currently underway and includes a 10-month field trial that of hydrogen injection into part of a private gas distribution system owned and operated by Keele University. The second phase of the HyDeploy project (HyDeploy2) continues on from the work of the first phase and is scheduled to conclude with two 12-month field trials in which hydrogen will be injected into public gas networks owned and operated by NGN and Cadent Gas.<br/>Click on the supplements tab to view the other documents from this report

Algeria richly-endowed with renewable resources is well-positioned to become a vital green hydrogen provider to Europe. Aiming to aid policymakers stakeholders and energy sector participants this study embodies the first effort in literature to investigate the viability and cost-effectiveness of implementing green hydrogen production projects destined for exports to Europe via existing pipelines. A land suitability analysis utilizing multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) coupled with geographical information system (GIS) identified that over 43.55% of Algeria is highly-suitable for hydrogen production. Five optimal locations were investigated utilizing Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Electric Renewables (HOMER) with solar-hydrogen proving the most cost-effective option. Wind-based production offering higher output volumes reaching 968 kg/h requires turbine cost reductions of 17.50% (Ain Salah) to 54.50% (Djanet) to achieve a competitive levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) of $3.85/kg with PV systems. A techno-economic sensitivity analysis was conducted identifying Djanet as the most promising location for a 100 MW solar-hydrogen plant with a competitive LCOH ranging from $1.96/kg to $4.85/kg.

Electrical energy storage (EES) such as lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries can reduce curtailment of renewables maximizing renewable utilization by storing surplus electricity. Several techno-economic analyses have been performed on EES but few have investigated the financial performance. This paper presents a state-of-the-art financial model obtaining novel and significative financial and economics results when applied to Li-ion EES. This work is a significant step forward since traditional analysis on EES are based on oversimplified and unrealistic economic models. A discounted cash flow model for the Li-ion EES is introduced and applied to examine the financial performance of three EES operating scenarios. Real-life solar irradiance load and retail electricity price data from Kenya are used to develop a set of case studies. The EES is coupled with photovoltaics and an anaerobic digestion biogas power plant. The results show the impact of capital cost: the Li-ion project is unprofitable in Kenya with a capital cost of 1500 $/kWh but is profitable at 200 $/kWh. The study shows that the EES will generate a higher profit if it is cycled more frequently (hence a higher lifetime electricity output) although the lifetime is reduced due to degradation.

Photocatalytic hydrogen production is considered as an ideal approach to solve global energy crisis and environmental pollution. Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) has received extensive consideration due to its facile synthesis stable physicochemical properties and easy functionalization. However the pristine g-C3N4 usually shows unsatisfactory photocatalytic activity due to the limited separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers. Generally introducing semiconductors or co-catalysts to construct g–C3N4–based heterojunction photocatalysts is recognized as an effective method to solve this bottleneck. In this review the advantages and characteristics of various types of g–C3N4–based heterojunction are analyzed. Subsequently the recent progress of highly efficient g–C3N4–based heterojunction photocatalysts in the field of photocatalytic water splitting is emphatically introduced. Finally a vision of future perspectives and challenges of g–C3N4–based heterojunction photocatalysts in hydrogen production are presented. Predictably this timely review will provide valuable reference for the design of efficient heterojunctions towards photocatalytic water splitting and other photoredox reactions.

Renewable energy and clean energy have been on the global agenda for energy transition for quite a long time but recently gained strong momentum especially with the anticipated depletion of fossil fuels alongside increasing environmental degradation from their exploitation and the changing climate caused by their excessive carbon emissions. Despite this Africa’s pursuit to transition to a green economy using renewable energy resources still faces constraints that hamper further development and commercialization. These may include socio-economic technical political financial and institutional policy framework barriers. Although hydrogen demand is still low in Southern Africa the region can meet the global demands for green hydrogen as a major supplier because of its enormous renewable energy resource-base. This article reviews existing renewable energy resources and hydrogen energy policies in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The significance of this review is that it explores how clean energy technologies that utilize renewable energy resources address the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs) and identifies the hydrogen energy policy gaps. This review further presents policy options and recommends approaches to enhance hydrogen energy production and ramp the energy transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a hydrogen energy-based economy in Southern Africa. Concisely the transition can be achieved if the existing hydrogen energy policy framework gap is narrowed by formulating policies that are specific to hydrogen development in each country with the associated economic benefits of hydrogen energy clearly outlined.

An opportunity to decarbonise the offshore oil and gas sector lies in the integration of renewable energy sources with energy storage in a hybrid energy system (HES). Such concept enables maximising the exploitation of carbon-free renewable power while minimising the emissions associated with conventional power generation systems such as gas turbines. Offshore plants in addition to electrical and mechanical power also require process heat for their operation. Solutions that provide low-emission heat in parallel to power are necessary to reach a very high degree of decarbonisation. This paper investigates different options to supply process heat in offshore HES while the electric power is mostly covered by a wind turbine. All HES configurations include energy storage in the form of hydrogen tied to proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers and fuel cells stacks. As a basis for comparison a standard configuration relying solely on a gas turbine and a waste heat recovery unit is considered. A HES combined with a waste heat recovery unit to supply heat proved efficient when low renewable power capacity is integrated but unable to deliver a total CO2 emission reduction higher than around 40%. Alternative configurations such as the utilization of gas-fired or electric heaters become more competitive at large installed renewable capacity approaching CO2 emission reductions of up to 80%.

This study reports on an innovative press-loaded blister hybrid system equipped with gas-chromatography (PBS-GC) that is designed to evaluate the mechanical fatigue of two representative types of commercial Nafion membranes under relevant PEMFC operating conditions (e.g. simultaneously controlling temperature and humidity). The influences of various applied pressures (50 kPa 100 kPa etc.) and blistering gas types (hydrogen oxygen etc.) on the mechanical resistance loss are systematically investigated. The results evidently indicate that hydrogen gas is a more effective blistering gas for inducing dynamic mechanical losses of PEM. The changes in proton conductivity are also measured before and after hydrogen gas pressure-loaded blistering. After performing the mechanical aging test a decrease in proton conductivity was confirmed which was also interpreted using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis. Finally an accelerated dynamic mechanical aging test is performed using the homemade PBS-GC system where the hydrogen permeability rate increases significantly when the membrane is pressure-loaded blistering for 10 min suggesting notable mechanical fatigue of the PEM. In summary this PBS-GC system developed in-house clearly demonstrates its capability of screening and characterizing various membrane candidates in a relatively short period of time (<1.5 h at 50 kPa versus 200 h).

IGEM/TD/13 Standard applies to the safe design construction inspection testing operation and maintenance of pressure regulating installations (PRIs) in accordance with current knowledge and operational experience.

This Supplement provides additional requirements for new PRIs to be used for the transmission of Hydrogen including Natural Gas/Hydrogen blended mixtures (subsequently referred to as NG/H blends) and for the repurposing of Natural Gas (NG) PRIs for Hydrogen service.

NG/H blends are considered to be equivalent to 100 mol % Hydrogen with respect to limits on design stresses the potential effect on the material properties and damage and defect categories and acceptance levels unless an additional technical evaluation is carried out to qualify the materials.

NG/H blends containing in excess of 10 mol % Hydrogen are considered to be equivalent to 100 mol.% Hydrogen with respect to all other requirements except for hazardous areas.

This Supplement gives additional recommendations for PRIs and installations

• with an upstream maximum operating pressure (MOP) not greater than 100 bar
• with an outlet pressure greater than or equal to 7 bar
• for use with Hydrogen or NG/H blends with a Hydrogen content greater than 10 %
• operating with a temperature range between -20°C and 120°C.

You can purchase the standard here

Although electricity supply is still dominated by fossil fuels it is expected that renewable sources will have a much larger contribution in the future due to the need to mitigate climate change. Therefore this paper presents a new framework for developing Future Electricity Scenarios (FuturES) with high penetration of renewables. A multi-period linear programming model has been created for power-system expansion planning. This has been coupled with an economic dispatch model PowerGAMA to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of the developed scenarios while matching supply and demand. Application of FuturES is demonstrated through the case of Chile which has ambitious plans to supply electricity using only renewable sources. Four cost-optimal scenarios have been developed for the year 2050 using FuturES: two Business as usual (BAU) and two Renewable electricity (RE) scenarios. The BAU scenarios are unconstrained in terms of the technology type and can include all 11 options considered. The RE scenarios aim to have only renewables in the mix including storage. The results show that both BAU scenarios have a levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) lower than or equal to today’s costs ($72.7–77.3 vs $77.6/MWh) and include 81–90% of renewables. The RE scenarios are slightly more expensive than today’s costs ($81–87/MWh). The cumulative investment for the BAU scenarios is $123-$145 bn compared to $147-$157 bn for the RE. The annual investment across the scenarios is estimated at $4.0 ± 0.4 bn. Both RE scenarios show sufficient flexibility in matching supply and demand despite solar photovoltaics and wind power contributing around half of the total supply. Therefore the FuturES framework is a powerful tool for aiding the design of cost-efficient power systems with high penetration of renewables.

The objective of this report is to analyse the upfront capital costs facing consumers when considering the installation of new low carbon heating technology solutions for their homes today including the cost of any associated home upgrades that will likely be required. The UK Government have recently published its Heat and Buildings Strategy which sets out plans to significantly cut carbon emissions from the existing housing stock and new homes. Whilst the Strategy points to a future role for a variety of technologies such as heat pumps hydrogen and heat networks the success of this Strategy will largely be determined by the ability to achieve installed cost reductions for heat pumps of at least 25-50% by 2025 with the view to achieving cost parity with a gas boiler by 2030. The purpose of this report is to launch a series which tracks the  upfront costs of these respective technologies over time to establish whether the cost reduction targets mooted by government and heat pump stakeholders are being delivered and the implications this has on our ability to decarbonise the UK housing stock.