Projects & Initiatives

The Gas Goes Green Programme developed by the gas networks and the Energy Networks Association (ENA) describes a viable pathway to the injection of hydrogen and biomethane as a practical step towards the decarbonisation of the UK gas sector and will play a key role in the UK’s Net Zero energy strategy. It therefore follows that technical and management teams in the supply chain and related industries will need a sound understanding of the issues Read More

This publication by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) brings together heat networks investment opportunities in England and Wales. The opportunities present a wide range of projects supported through the development stages by the Heat Networks Delivery Unit (HNDU) and projects seeking capital support from the Heat Networks Investment Project (HNIP).The publication includes a list of one-page summaries for each Read More

The site at the Health and Safety Executive’s Science and Research Centre in Buxton will carry out controlled tests to establish the critical safety evidence proving that a 100% hydrogen gas network is equally as safe as the natural gas grid heating our homes and businesses today. The results will be critical in determining if it is safe to convert millions of homes across the country from natural gas to hydrogen. H21 which is led by Northern Gas Networks Read More

Hydrogen boilers have been developed by Worcester Bosch and Baxi and are being trialled in demonstration houses. They look and feel just like the boilers we use today. Hydrogen produces no carbon when used and a hydrogen gas network could provide the least disruptive route to a net zero carbon future.

Although the UK has done a great job of decarbonising electricity generation to get to net zero we need to tackle harder-to-decarbonise sectors like heat transport and industry. Decarbonised gas – biogases hydrogen and the deployment of carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) – can make our manufacturing more sustainable minimise disruption to families and deliver negative emissions.Developing the capability to produce hydrogen at Read More

This report contains information on the relative risks of natural gas and hydrogen fires particularly regarding their visibility. The fires considered are those that could occur on the H100 Fife trial network. The H100 Fife project will connect a number of residential houses to 100% hydrogen gas supply. The project includes hydrogen production storage and a new distribution network. From a review of large and small-scale tests and incidents it is concluded th Read More

The Energy Research Accelerator (ERA) and the Birmingham Energy Institute have launched a policy commission to examine the state of play barriers challenges and opportunities for Energy from Waste (EfW) to form part of the regional energy circular economy in the Midlands. This policy commission explores the case for regional investment whilst helping shape the regional local government and industry thinking surrounding critical issues such Read More

The THyGA project (‘Testing Hydrogen admixture for Gas Applications’) focusses on technical aspects and the regulatory framework concerning the potential operation of domestic and commercial end-user appliances with hydrogen / natural gas blends.The core of the project is a broad experimental campaign with the aim to conduct up to 100 hydrogen tolerance tests. In addition the technical status quo and present knowledge about hydrogen impact on do Read More

Introduction of hydrogen into the UK gas main has been reviewed in terms of how materials within the Keele G3 gas distribution network (G3 GDN) on the Keele University network may be affected by contact with natural gas (NG):hydrogen blends up to a limit of 20 % mol/mol hydrogen.This work has formed part of the supporting evidence for a 1 year hydrogen blending trial on the Keele G3 GDN coordinated by the HyDeploy consortium (formed of rep Read More

Reducing the cost of delivering hydrogen to fuelling stations and dispensing it into fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) is one critical element of efforts to increase the cost-competitiveness of FCEVs. Today hydrogen is primarily delivered to stations by trucks. Pipeline delivery is much rarer: one urban U.S. station has been supplied with 800-psi hydrogen from an industrial hydrogen pipeline since 2011 and a German station on the edge of an industrial park h Read More

The trial management philosophy of HyDeploy has been developed to enable the overall objectives of the project to be achieved; the safe demonstration of operating a Gas Distribution Network (GDN) on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen. This document provides an overview of the management and governance processes associated with the trial itself. The operational and safety related undertakings before during and after the trial are summa Read More

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (FCH 2 JU) organised the sixth edition of its Programme Review Days (PRD). 100 projects allocated in 6 panels covering cross-cutting energy and transport in research and demonstration activities have been the basis of the FCH JU's annual review of its research and innovation programme.

A project overview of HyDeploy project led by Cadent Gas and supported by Northern Gas Networks Progressive Energy Ltd Keele University HSE – Science Division and ITM Power.First Phase:HyDeploy at Keele is the first stage of this three stage programme. In November 2019 the UK Health & Safety Executive gave permission to run a live test of blended hydrogen and natural gas on part of the private gas network at Keele University campus in Staffords Read More

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 t Read More

The HyDeploy Project seeks to address a key issue for UK customers: how to reduce the carbon they emit in heating their homes. The UK has a world class gas grid delivering heat conveniently and safely to over 83% of homes. Emissions could be reduced by lowering the carbon content of gas through blending with hydrogen. Compared with solutions such as heat pumps this means that customers would not need disruptive and expensive changes in their Read More

This report summarises the results of an independent audit carried out by DNV GL on the model conversions from natural gas to hydrogen for the models being used as a benchmark for the wider UK proposed hydrogen conversion of the natural gas network. The detailed model conversion process was derived from the H21 modelling meetings and the detailed notes were put together by NGN as a basic guide which has been included in Appendix A and is Read More

The 'Hydrogen for Heat' (Hy4Heat) programme aims to support the UK Government in its ambitions to decarbonise the UK energy sector in line with the targets of the Climate Change Act 2008 by attempting to evaluate and de-risk the natural gas to hydrogen network conversion option. The impact on the commercial sector is an important factor in understanding the feasibility of utilising hydrogen to decarbonise heat in the UK. The overall objective Read More

National Grid (NG) needs to understand the implications that a hydrogen rich gas mix may have on the existing pipeline network. The primary network consists extensively of X52 steel pipe sections welded together using girth welds. Different welding specifications that have been used in the past 40 years and girth welds with different specifications may behave differently when coming into contact with hydrogen gas.The aim of the flow loop test pro Read More

The facility will be built from a range of decommissioned transmission assets to create a representative whole-network which will be used to trial hydrogen and will allow for accurate results to be analysed. Blends of hydrogen up to 100% will then be tested at transmission pressures to assess how the assets perform.The hydrogen research facility will remain separate from the main National Transmission System allowing for testing to be undertaken in Read More

A consortium comprising Cadent Northern Gas Networks Keele University Health and Safety Laboratory ITM Power and Progressive Energy is undertaking the research project HyDeploy. The project 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 sa Read More

Keele University was chosen as the site for the HyDeploy project as it was seen as the site offered a high degree of control regarding safety functions high availability of operational data and minimal supply chain interfaces given that Keele University is the supplier transporter and distributer of natural gas at the site. The site was offered to the project as a living laboratory in line with the university's ambition to be at the forefront of energy innovation throu Read More

The assessment of appropriate operational procedures to govern the injection of a hydrogen/natural gas blend into Northern Gas Networks’ (NGN) Winlaton gas distribution network was a key requirement of the HyDeploy2 project. To perform this assessment the review was broken down into two areas procedures upstream of the emergency control valve (owned by NGN) and procedures downstream of the Emergency Control Valve (procedures which would Read More

The trial management philosophy of the Winlaton trial within HyDeploy2 has been developed to enable the overall objectives of the project to be achieved; the safe demonstration of operating a Gas Distribution Network (GDN) on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen. The approach taken to develop the management philosophy of the Winlaton trial has been to continue the trial management strategies deployed for the Keele trial under HyDeploy al Read More

Winlaton site was chosen as the site for the HyDeploy 2 North East trial as it was seen as the site that offered a high degree of variability with regards materials on the network size of network and statistical representation of housing. The Winlaton trial network is an estate of the wider Winlaton gas network situated in Blaydon near Gateshead. The Winlaton trial network has been isolated from the wider Winlaton gas network where it was previously su Read More

The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) has the ambitious objective to place Europe at the forefront of the development commercialization and deployment of fuel cells and hydrogen technologies as of 2015. About €470 million over a six year period have been granted by the European Union to achieve this and private funds are being attracted to support the same ambition as part of the global European effort embedded in the multi-annu Read More

The 2014 Review is the fourth review of the FCH JU project portfolio. The reviews began in 2011 following a recommendation arising from the interim evaluation of the FCH JU which identified the need to ensure that the FCH JU project portfolio as a whole fulfilled the objectives of the Multi-Annual Implementation or Work Plan.

Hydrogen as the International Energy Agency (IEA 2019) notes has experienced a number of ‘false dawns’ - in the 1970s 1990s and early 2000s - which subsequently faded. However this time there is reason to think that hydrogen will play a substantial role in the global energy system. The most important factor driving this renewed focus is the ability of hydrogen to support deep carbon abatement by assisting in those sectors where abatement with Read More

DNV GL believes that the National Transmission System (NTS) will be central to the future of decarbonised energy in the UK. The future NTS could transmit natural gas hydrogen blends of the two and carbon dioxide. New pipelines will be built however a large cost-saving is available if the existing NTS assets can also be re-purposed. To move towards this future National Grid Gas Transmission wants to develop a project to trial injection hydrogen into the NT Read More

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 p Read More

Emissions from natural gas combustion and use are the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the UK. The use of hydrogen in place of natural gas in principle offers a potential route to long term widespread decarbonisation of gas distribution networks as shown by the Leeds City Gate (‘H21’) study.1 The purpose of considering conversion to hydrogen is to deliver widespread carbon abatement across the UK at lower cost than alternative decar Read More

The Government’s recently published ‘Road to Zero’ strategy sets out objectives to electrify cars and reduce emissions from heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) through policies such as ending the sale of diesel and petrol cars and subsidising electric charging infrastructure. The CCC response to the strategy however stated that the proposed measures do not go far enough. New Government policies combined with action from industry will be required for mobili Read More

The 2019 Programme Review Report presents the findings of a review into activities supported by the FCH 2 JU under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme and Horizon 2020 by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC ). It pays particular attention to the added value effectiveness and techno-economic efficiency of FCH 2 JU projects assigned to six review panels under two main pillars:Transport and Energy (TRANSPORT: a.trials a Read More

This work programme was focused on identifying a suitable odorant for use in a 100% hydrogen gas grid (domestic use such as boilers and cookers). The research involved a review of existing odorants (used primarily for natural gas) and the selection of five suitable odorants based on available literature. One odorant was selected based on possible suitability with a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) based fuel cell vehicle which could in future be a po Read More

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 Read More

The Fuel Cells & Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) project ""Testing Hydrogen admixture for Gas Appliances"" aka THyGA is proud to release the second deliverable about the impact of hydrogen admixture on combustion processes. This time the report explores the expected impact of H2NG on a range of appliance designs installed in the EU.After the deliverable D2.2 dedicated to the theorical estimation of the impact of H2 admixture THyGA reviews Read More

The 2015 Programme Review Report refers to the fifth review of the FCH JU project portfolio and covers 100 projects funded through annual calls for proposals from 2009 to 2013.The reviews began in 2011 following a recommendation arising from the interim evaluation of the FCH JU which identified the need to ensure that the overall project portfolio fulfilled the objectives of the FCH JU Multi-Annual Implementation and Work Plans. Read More

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.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 technol Read More

The UK Government signed legislation on 27th June 2019 committing the UK to a legally binding target of Net Zero emissions by 2050. Climate change is one of the most significant technical economic social and business challenges facing the world today.The H21 NIC Phase 1 project delivered an optimally designed experimentation and testing programme supported by the HSE Science Division and DNV GL with the aim to collect quantifiable evidence to suppo Read More

Hydrogen is increasingly being positioned as an important component of the UK’s Net Zero ambitions and commitments. In particular hydrogen could be an appropriate way to decarbonise the heat produced for domestic and industrial buildings. It is possible that hydrogen could replace natural gas in the UK gas network achieving key carbon emissions reduction targets while enabling homes to be heated to a similar level and standard as they currently are Read More

A consortiumcomprising Cadent Gas Health and Safety Executive – Science Division ITMPower Keele University Northern Gas Networks and Progressive Energy is undertaking the second phase of the research project HyDeploy. The project the first two phase ofwhich 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 o Read More

This 2nd deliverable from WP4 gives an overview of relevant existing certification experience on-going standardization activities and field trials in the European Union and other countries regarding gas appliances using H2NG. It gives a picture of the today’s situation as many of the identified initiatives are ongoing and progressing continuously.

On this weeks episode the team are talking all things hydrogen with Mark Neller Director at Arup. On the show we discuss the UK’s Hydrogen4Heat program where Arup has been leading the UK government’s work on the safety and practical considerations that are necessary to examine whether hydrogen could be a serious solutions for decarbonising UK residential commercial and industry heat. We also discuss the Nikola Badger the need for system wide Read More

The Hy4Heat Safety Assessment has focused on assessing the safe use of hydrogen gas in certain types of domestic properties and buildings. The summary reports (the Precis and the Safety Assessment Conclusions Report) bring together all the findings of the work and should be looked to for context by all readers. The technical reports should be read in conjunction with the summary reports. While the summary reports are made as accessible as pos Read More

Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom is a two-year project exploring what a decarbonised smart local energy system could look like for Milford Haven Pembroke and Pembroke Dock.The project explores the potential of hydrogen as part of a multi-vector approach to decarbonisation. Central to the project and to achieving Net Zero is a commitment to engage with the community and local industry providing insight and opportunities for growth.The ambition Read More

The main goal of THyGA’s WP5 is to investigate ways to adapt residential or commercial appliances that have safety or performance issues to different levels of H2 concentrations in natural gas. This first deliverable presents some possible mitigation measures based on a literature study and some calculations.Acting on gas quality to avoid that hydrogen addition enhance current gas properties variations was explored several times in the pas Read More

As a part of its knowledge management activities the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking 2 (FCH 2 JU) has commissioned the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to perform a series of historical analyses by topic area to assess the impact of funded projects and the progression of its current Multi-Annual Work Plan (MAWP; 2014- 2020) towards its objectives. These historical analyses consider all relevant funded projects since the programme’s inception in 200 Read More

The H21 Phase 2 research will provide vital evidence both towards the hydrogen village trial and potential town scale pilots and to the Government which is aiming to make a decision about the use of hydrogen for home heating by 2026.The key objectives of the H21 Phase 2 NIC project were to further develop the evidence base supporting conversion of the natural gas distribution network to 100% hydrogen. The key principles of H21 NIC Phase 2 were to Read More

The aim of this study was to determine how the efficiency of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser is affected by an electric ripple current and the different characteristics of the ripple current (frequency amplitude and waveform). This paper presents the experimental method and measured results used to analyse the effect of ripple currents at various frequencies ripple factors and waveforms on the hydrogen production power consumption and e Read More

Diesel generators are currently used as an off-grid solution for backup power but this causes CO2 and GHG emissions noise emissions and the negative effects of the volatile diesel market influencing operating costs. Green hydrogen production by means of water electrolysis has been proposed as a feasible solution to fill the gaps between demand and production the main handicaps of using exclusively renewable energy in isolated applications. This m Read More

The highlights of the report include:East Coast Hydrogen has the potential to connect up to 7GW of hydrogen production by 2030 alone exceeding the UK Government’s 5GW by 2030 target in a single project. It represents an unmissable opportunity for government and the private sector to work together in delivering on our ambitious decarbonisation targets.East Coast Hydrogen can use the natural assets of the North of England including existing and Read More