Projects & Initiatives

Hydrogen technologies maintained strong momentum in 2019 awakening keen interest among policy makers. It was a record year for electrolysis capacity becoming operational and several significant announcements were made for upcoming years. The fuel cell electric vehicle market almost doubled owing to outstanding expansion in China Japan and Korea. However low-carbon production capacity remained relatively constant and is still off track with the SDS. More efforts are needed to: scale up to reduce costs; replace high-carbon with low-carbon hydrogen in current applications; and expand hydrogen use to new applications.

Link to Document on IEA Website

HyDeploy is a pioneering hydrogen energy project designed to help reduce UK CO2 emissions and reach the Government’s net zero target for 2050.

As the first ever live demonstration of hydrogen in homes HyDeploy aims to prove that blending up to 20% volume of hydrogen with natural gas is a safe and greener alternative to the gas we use now.  It is  providing evidence on how customers don’t have to change their cooking or heating appliances to take the blend which means less disruption and cost for them.

In many areas European research has been largely fragmented. To support the required integration and to focus and coordinate related research efforts the European Commission created a new instrument the Networks of Excellences (NoEs). The goal of the NoE HySafe has been to provide the basis to facilitate the safe introduction of hydrogen as an energy carrier by removing the safety related obstacles. The prioritisation of the HySafe internal project activities was based on a phenomena identification and ranking exercise (PIRT) and expert interviews. The identified research headlines were “Releases in (partially) confined areas” “Mitigation” and “Quantitative Risk Assessment”. Along these headlines existing or planned research work was re-orientated and slightly modified to build up three large internal research projects “InsHyde” “HyTunnel” and “HyQRA”. In InsHyde realistic indoor hydrogen leaks and associated hazards have been investigated to provide recommendations for the safe use of indoor hydrogen systems including mitigation and detection means. The appropriateness of available regulations codes and standards (RCS) has been assessed. Experimental and numerical work was conducted to benchmark simulation tools and to evaluate the related recommendations. HyTunnel contributed to the understanding of the nature of the hazards posed by hydrogen vehicles inside tunnels and its relative severity compared to other fuels. In HyQRA quantitative risk assessment strategies were applied to relevant scenarios in a hydrogen refuelling station and the performance was compared to derive also recommendations. The integration provided by the network is manifested by a series of workshops and benchmarks related to experimental and numerical work. Besides the network generated the following products: the International Conference on Hydrogen Safety the first academic education related to hydrogen safety and the Safety Handbook. Finally the network initiated the founding of the International Association for Hydrogen Safety which will open up the future networking to all interested parties on an international level. The indicated results of this five years integration activity will be described in short.

This Meeting Report summarises the findings of a two-day workshop in April 2007 at the Culham Science Centre and Worcester College Oxford which explored the potential for large-scale Hydrogen production through methods other than electrolysis.<br/>Operating at the cusp of research and policy-making the UK Energy Research Centre's mission is to be the UK's pre-eminent centre of research and source of authoritative information and leadership on sustainable energy systems. The Centre takes a whole systems approach to energy research incorporating economics engineering and the physical environmental and social sciences while developing and maintaining the means to enable cohesive research in energy. A key supporting function of UKERC is the Meeting Place based in Oxford which aims to bring together members of the UK energy community and overseas experts from different disciplines to learn identify problems develop solutions and further the energy debate.

The 2013 Programme Review is the third annual review of the FCH JU portfolio of projects. This edition covers over 100 projects funded through annual calls for proposals from 2008 to 2012.<br/>The Programme Review serves to evaluate the achievements of the portfolio of FCH JU-funded projects against FCH JU strategic objectives in terms of advancing technological progress addressing horizontal activities and promoting cooperation with other projects both within the FCH JU portfolio as well as externally.<br/>The 2013 Review confirms that the portfolio of projects supported within energy and transport pillars and within its cross-cutting activities is a solid one aligned with the FCH JU strategic objectives. Industry and research collaboration is strong with SMEs making up 30% of total participants. The continued expansion of demonstration activities in both pillars answers to a greater emphasis on addressing the commercialisation challenge which is bolstered by activities in basic and breakthrough research.

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 UK government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. All future energy modelling identifies a key role for hydrogen (linked to CCUS) in providing decarbonised energy for heat transport industry and power generation. Blending hydrogen into the existing natural gas pipeline network has already been proposed as a means of transporting low carbon energy. However the expectation is that a gas blend with maximum hydrogen content of 20 mol% can be used without impacting consumers’ end use applications. Therefore a transitional solution is needed to achieve a 100% hydrogen future network.

Deblending (i.e. separation of the blended gas stream) is a potential solution to allow the existing gas transmission and distribution network infrastructure to transport energy as a blended gas stream. Deblending can provide either hydrogen natural gas or blended gas for space heating transport industry and power generation applications. If proven technically and economically feasible utilising the existing gas transmission and distribution networks in this manner could avoid the need for investment in separate gas and hydrogen pipeline networks during the transition to a future fully decarbonised gas network.

The Energy Network Association (ENA) “Gas Goes Green” programme identifies deblending could play a critical role in the transition to a decarbonised gas network. Gas separation technologies are well-established and mature and have been used and proven in natural gas processing for decades. However these technologies have not been used for bulk gas transportation in a transmission and distribution network setting. Some emerging hydrogen separation technologies are currently under development. The main hydrogen recovery and purification technologies currently deployed globally are:

• Cryogenic separation
• Membrane separation
• Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA)

The technologies noted above require an energy input to drive the separation of gas components in the form of compression to provide a pressure differential. The configuration of the GB gas transmission and distribution networks provides a possible source of available energy through the pressure let-down in the network pressure tiers which could be used to drive the gas component separation processes. This study evaluated the gas separation technologies noted above against a selection of case studies based on actual network operating conditions to assess the technical andeconomic feasibility of hydrogen deblending in the GB gas network context. This study constitutes the first stage (proof of concept) in a programme of works that should provide the critical evidence for hydrogen deblending as a necessary component to enable the use of GB gas networks to transport and distribute hydrogen.

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.

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 United Kingdom has a vast scientific base across the entire Hydrogen and Fuel Cell research landscape with a world class academic community coupled with significant industrial activity from both UK-based Hydrogen and Fuel Cell companies and global companies with a strong presence within the country. The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell (H2FC) SUPERGEN Hub funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) was established in 2012 as a five-year programme to bring the UK's H2FC research community together. Here we present the UK's current Hydrogen and Fuel Cell activities along with the role of the H2FC SUPERGEN Hub.

HyNet North West is a significant clean growth opportunity for the UK. It is a low cost deliverable project which meets the major challenges of reducing carbon emissions from industry domestic heat and transport.<br/>HyNet North West is based on the production of hydrogen from natural gas. It includes the development of a new hydrogen pipeline; and the creation of the UK’s first carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure. CCS is a vital technology to achieve the widespread emissions savings needed to meet the 2050 carbon reduction targets.<br/>Accelerating the development and deployment of hydrogen technologies and CCS through HyNet North West positions the UK strongly for skills export in a global low carbon economy.<br/>The North West is ideally placed to lead HyNet. The region has a history of bold innovation and today clean energy initiatives are thriving. On a practical level the concentration of industry existing technical skill base and unique geology means the region offers an unparalleled opportunity for a project of this kind.<br/>The new infrastructure built by HyNet is readily extendable beyond the initial project and provides a replicable model for similar programmes across the UK<br/>Contains Vision statement 2 leaflets a presentation and a summary report which are all stored as supplements.