Achieving the UK’s Net Zero targets will require decarbonisation across the whole energy system. Sectors such as heat are difficult to decarbonise, and the importance of the National Transmission System (NTS) to the UK’s current energy supply means we need to consider how to deliver low carbon energy, reliably and safely to all consumers. Existing research suggests that hydrogen could be an alternative to natural gas, but there are several knowledge gaps that need addressing.
We’ve been awarded funding through the Network Innovation Competition for our FutureGrid project, to look at the possibility of converting the NTS to transport hydrogen.
Watch our video to learn more about the FutureGrid project.
View videoThe 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 a controlled environment, with no risk to the safety and reliability of the existing gas transmission network.
Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition will provide £9.07m of funding with the remaining amount coming from the project partners.
The aim is to start construction in 2021 with testing beginning in 2022.
Antony Green, Project Director for Hydrogen at National Grid says: “Today’s announcement is a major step forward and shows Ofgem’s commitment to net zero investment. If we truly want to reach a net zero decarbonised future, we need to replace methane with green alternatives like hydrogen. Sectors such as heat are difficult to decarbonise, and the importance of the gas networks to the UK’s current energy supply means projects like this are crucial if we are to deliver low carbon energy, reliably and safely to all consumers.”
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Our FutureGrid project to test how we might safely introduce hydrogen into our gas network and a project to upgrade powerlines to deliver more power and less emissions have received £17.17m funding from Ofgem.
Hydrogen is a clean and abundant alternative to methane, also known as natural gas. Here, we explain how hydrogen will be an essential element in our greener gas future.
Helping to demonstrate how hydrogen can be the heating fuel of the future, our Viking Link project in Lincolnshire has become the first construction site in the world to use hydrogen cells for all its heat and power.
To reach net zero by 2050, we need to find new ways to heat the UK’s homes and businesses. Hydrogen could be central to this and a new test facility will look at how hydrogen might work within the existing gas network.
