Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has successfully completed the UK’s first trial of blending hydrogen with natural gas on the public network.
Over a period of 11 months, hydrogen was blended with natural gas at rates of up to 20% by volume on a closed section of network at Winlaton in Gateshead supplying 668 houses as well as a church and a school.
The gas distribution network said no changes were required to pipework or appliances such as boilers and cookers as they are already designed to operate with blends of up to 23% hydrogen, meaning customers could continue to use them as normal.
Fergal O’Donovan, hydrogen programme manager at Northern Gas Networks, said: “The recent unprecedented hot weather has brought the need to tackle climate change to the forefront of people’s mind and this project has demonstrated that hydrogen blending can play a role in decarbonising heat with no disruption.
“We’d like to thank the residents of Winlaton for their participation and support in this vital demonstration”
The trial was undertaken for the second phase of the HyDeploy project led by Cadent. The first phase saw hydrogen blended into a private gas network at Keele University serving 100 homes and around 30 commercial buildings over an 18-month period ending in spring 2021.
Dr Angela Needle, director of strategy at Cadent said: “We’ve been thrilled to pass the baton from the first ever hydrogen blending trial at Keele University to Northern Gas Networks who have successfully completed blending into the gas network in the village of Winlaton. This project is the culmination of a huge amount of work putting consumers at the heart of the energy transition.
“By blending hydrogen into the gas network, the people in Winlaton could start using a greener gas without having to make any changes to their home or the way they use their heating and cooking.”
A report on the findings from the trial at Winlaton will be submitted to the government later year ahead of its decision on the wider blending of hydrogen into the UK gas grid, which is due to be taken in 2023.
As part of its H100 Fife project in Scotland, SGN is planning to begin operating the UK’s first gas network running on 100% hydrogen at Buckhaven and Denbeath by 2023. The demonstration network, serving 300 homes, would initially operate until 2027 and would be supplied with green hydrogen produced using electrolysers powered by a nearby offshore wind turbine.
The government intends this first hydrogen neighbourhood to be followed by the UK’s first hydrogen village by 2025 and then its first hydrogen town by 2030.
Earlier this year, Ofgem shortlisted two demonstration projects – one proposed by Cadent and British Gas at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire and another by NGN at Redcar in North Yorkshire – to become the first hydrogen village. The chosen network would supply around 2,000 properties and would initially operate for two years until 2027.