The UK Government has said it will support blending up to 20% hydrogen into British gas distribution networks following consultation.
Based on current evidence, the government says it sees potential “strategic and economic” value in supporting 20% hydrogen blends, “in certain circumstances that align with blending’s strategic role.”
Now, it says industry trials to gather evidence on whether blending can be used safely in gas distribution network, will need to be assessed by government before “any steps” to implement blending are taken.
“Following completion of the safety assessment, government will take a decision on whether to enable blending into the GB gas distribution networks,” the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said.
The Department added, its decision will consider any implications from the safety on hydrogen blending’s feasibility and economic case.
Hydrogen blending has been slated to pragmatically decarbonise energy grids as an interim step. But, a 2022 International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) report said, the carbon reduction benefits could be very limited.
It said that a 20% hydrogen volume blend, due to the energy carrier’s molecular weight represents just 7% in terms of energy. At best, IRENA said blending natural gas with 20% volume hydrogen would deliver a 7% CO2 emissions reduction.
However, the same report did say hydrogen blending could help to de-risk hydrogen production projects, because it takes case of the transportation and end-use elements of projects.
With the UK Government today (December 14) selected 11 projects for £2bn ($2.5bn) of revenue support, blending could be route for supporting nascent hydrogen production projects, while also offering a marginal reduction in emissions.
Read more: UK Government selects 11 green hydrogen projects for £2bn of revenue support
In 2021, a joint UK pilot project between Cadent, North Gas Networks (NGN), Progressive Energy, Keele University, ITM Power and the HSE, successfully tested the blending of 20% hydrogen in a small network.
According to the partners, the HyDeploy trial saw 100 homes and 30 university buildings on a private network at Keele University receive the 20% hydrogen blend for 18 months, without the need to make any changes to existing appliances.
Moving on from the university trial, NGN in August 2022 revealed further success, delivery up to a 20% hydrogen blend in a public network supplying 668 homes, a church and a school in Winlaton, Gateshead, for 11 months – once again with no need to change existing appliances.
Read more: 668 homes, a church and school receive hydrogen blend for 11 months in UK
Hydrogen blending: A balance of benefits
While the direct use of hydrogen in many of the applications discussed in this ‘Grid Balancing and Energy Security’ issue is often seen as the end goal, there has been growing excitement over the prospect of blending hydrogen with natural gas as an interim step to lower emissions in the shorter term.
In theory, blending the two gases will lower the emissions from natural gas grids while allowing existing infrastructure to be used, serving end-users where electrification is uneconomic.
From boilers and gas turbines to industrial processes and more, the idea of blending has been bounced around in a variety of geographies, with many policy-led projects exploring the pathway’s potential.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) in 2020 launched its HyBlend project to accelerate the potential for blending hydrogen in natural gas pipelines. Led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the project would carry out R&D to address the technical barriers of blending.
Last October (2022), the project yielded its results. And the picture it painted was more complicated than many would have anticipated, with numerous factors needing to be taken into account1…
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