Leading the way in low-carbon hydrogen

The East Coast Hydrogen (ECH₂) project forms an important component part of how the gas industry can help the UK to meet its ambitious target of a 78% reduction in carbon emissions, compared to 1990 levels, by 2035. Decarbonisation projects at significant scale must be planned, deployed and operational in the remaining years of this decade to enable these important targets to be met, as we progress towards our UK target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Cadent, National Gas and Northern Gas Networks have come together in an exciting collaboration to deliver a project called ECH₂. A pioneering hydrogen programme – encapsulating production, storage, transmission, and distribution – is set to drive green jobs, skills, and competitive supply chains across the Midlands and North East. This project will repurpose existing and build new gas infrastructure to transport hydrogen at bulk from centres of production to large commercial and industrial facilities, as well as centres of population. This is the largest and most ambitious hydrogen project in the UK today – with its roots grounded in deliverability, engineering rigour and a very secure needs case.

ECH₂ is an ambitious 15 year large-scale infrastructure project, that when delivered, will make a meaningful contribution to achieving carbon emission reduction targets. Currently, there is in the region of 7 - 10 GW of planned hydrogen production within the boundaries of the ECH₂ project. Now entering its second phase; ECH₂ will provide the opportunity to connect up to 11 GW of hydrogen production by 2030, exceeding the UK Government’s 10 GW target within a single region. The hydrogen will replace natural gas – currently essential for industry and power generators – helping to preserve the industrial and commercial value of the Midlands and North East. The East Coast region hosts concentrated industrial energy demand, significant gas storage and offshore wind power, making it an obvious location to produce low-carbon hydrogen. By providing critical hydrogen pipeline infrastructure, the programme can enable widespread decarbonisation. Industrial and commercial businesses forecast demand for hydrogen at 156 sites in the regions covered by East Coast Hydrogen, on behalf of 53 large energy consumers.

This project is forming the basis for what could grow into a national hydrogen network for the UK, north into Scotland and south and west into the rest of England; it presents a fantastic opportunity, and the learnings will help the pipeline industry in its development to transport future gases that will be less harmful to the planet.

The role of National Gas

National Gas’ role in the ECH₂ project will primarily focus on repurposing parts of the National Transmission System (NTS) to transport hydrogen between key industrial clusters, hydrogen production and storage sites within the region. With a concentration of key assets in the ECH_² area, National Gas has a vanguard role in the delivery of a net-zero future, while still ensuring the continued dependability of natural gas transmission to support Britain through the energy transition. ECH₂ provides the ideal balance of driving economic growth while still maintaining energy security, securing thousands of jobs, and creating thousands of new ones in the process.

The Teesside and Humberside Industrial Clusters are likely to see some of the earliest development of hydrogen production in the UK. Connecting both clusters by hydrogen transmission infrastructure will improve the resilience of each, via access to other sources of hydrogen production and storage. It will also provide the opportunity for hydrogen production to ‘scale-up’ by offering an alternative decarbonisation option for industry, power generation and distribution networks located away from the clusters.

The development of the ECH₂ project would also function as the preliminary phase of Project Union, a pioneering project to re-purpose up to 25% of the UK’s NTS for 100% hydrogen. Once completed, it will connect hydrogen production and storage with industrial, transport, power, and heat customers to enable net-zero and empower a UK hydrogen economy. By repurposing existing transmission pipelines, the project will create a low-cost hydrogen ‘backbone’ for the UK by the early 2030s, and connect to the pro-posed European Hydrogen Backbone.

There are several significant benefits to repurposing existing pipelines vs building new ones. These include cost savings during construction, planning and purchasing of materials, time savings, reduction of environmental impacts, and the extension of the life of assets that would otherwise be decommissioned.

Safety rests at the heart of all our operations, which is why National Gas is currently testing the impacts of hydrogen on the gas net-work to fully develop the safety case for a hydrogen transition. In support of this, National Gas is running the FutureGrid project, which initially focused on constructing a test network representative of the NTS at DNV’s test site in Cumbria, North West England. This facility is now built, and the next phase of the project will focus on carrying out a wide range of hydrogen tests, using this test facility to demonstrate the effect of hydrogen on their pipes and equipment, as well as the operation of their network. The aim of FutureGrid is to gain a full understanding of working with hydrogen and to…

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Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/special-reports/19122023/leading-the-way-in-low-carbon-hydrogen/