The use of hydrogen for domestic heating should be limited in scale and concentrated around industrial clusters that produce surpluses, E3G has argued in a new report.
The environmental thinktank said the UK should also focus on the production of green hydrogen using electrolysis powered by renewables. It said the production of so-called blue hydrogen by reforming methane and capturing the emissions “risks a lock-in of high carbon infrastructure and jobs”.
E3G said the conversion losses from electrolysis mean green hydrogen is likely to remain a “premium commodity” over the coming decades: “It should be deployed where it adds the greatest value for climate, jobs, and a strong economic recovery.
“Used wisely, green hydrogen can support the decarbonisation of industrial hubs across the UK, helping tackle some of the greatest climate challenges for sectors where currently, there are no readily available pathways to zero emissions.”
Giving domestic heating as the main example, the report said green hydrogen should not be used where alternatives are “readily available for rollout, are more efficient and cost-effective.” It said the UK should instead focus on making “rapid gains on energy efficiency, heat pumps and renewable heat networks,” adding: “Waiting for long-term progress on hydrogen must not act as a blocker to action that can be taken today.”
Citing figures from the Climate Change Committee, E3G said producing enough green hydrogen to replace all existing gas boilers would require a 30-fold increase in the UK’s current offshore wind capacity, whilst converting the gas distribution network would cost £22 billion.
The lower energy density of hydrogen when compared to methane would mean the network would need to be expanded to carry more volume, whilst the smaller size molecules would increase the risk of leakage. It said appliances and meters would need to be replaced and pointed to research undertaken for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which highlighted its faster flame speed, greater flammability range and higher burn temperature as potential safety risks.
“Hydrogen pipelines should be built around secure hydrogen demand and supply; not around the question of how existing gas assets can best be kept functioning,” it stated.
“The future hydrogen grid is likely to be significantly different than today’s gas grid, clustered around industrial end users rather than nationwide. As such, nationwide blending of fossil gas and hydrogen is not appropriate.”
The report noted concerns that discussions around hydrogen are being “dominated by those with vested interests in existing high carbon infrastructure”.
E3G said blue hydrogen is neither zero carbon nor low carbon and would leave the UK reliant on natural gas imports. It drew attention to its relatively inefficiency as a source of heating when compared to electrification via heat pumps and warned the government against taking a “twin track approaching of pursuing both green and blue hydrogen.”
“Instead, the UK’s competitive advantage lies with its offshore wind potential, which can support green hydrogen development and deployment in key industrial clusters and hubs,” the report concluded. “A system-wide stock take is required to identify where green hydrogen does – and does not – add value and provides the most cost-effective route for decarbonisation.”
Proponents of hydrogen heating argue that reinforcing the power grid to meet winter peaks in demand would make wholesale electrification more costly and disruptive.