ICIS – ANALYSIS: UK paints mixed picture for hydrogen in net zero strategy.
Future use of hydrogen is likely to be “limited rather than universal” according to the latest report from the UK’s House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, which painted a mixed picture for the future of hydrogen in the UK.
“We do not believe that it will be the panacea to our problems that might sometimes be inferred from the hopes placed on it,” the report, titled “The role of hydrogen in achieving net zero” and released earlier in week 51, stated.
Instead, hydrogen is likely to be focused on sectors that are hard to electrify, sectors that do not require an extensive refuelling network, industrial clusters, energy storage, and as a feedstock for energy intensive industries.
Current UK hydrogen demand is 30TWh, of which 1TWh is produced via low-carbon sources. Low-carbon hydrogen demand is forecast to increase to 225TWh by 2050, so a pathway to the development of a low-carbon hydrogen economy is critical to the process, the report said.
The UK’s Hydrogen Strategy states that the UK will aim for 10GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, of which at least half will be renewable hydrogen production capacity.
PRODUCTION TRANSITION
Both renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production is set to be backed in the UK, where other countries plan to rely only on renewable hydrogen through a combination of domestic production and imports.
The report states that low-carbon hydrogen could be a transition to renewable hydrogen in a similar way as natural gas was mooted as the transition fuel away from coal and towards renewables for electricity generation.
The low-carbon hydrogen production would have to see a development of carbon capture and storage (CCUS) technology in order to not be phased out as unabated hydrogen production will be, with low-carbon hydrogen having advantages over renewable hydrogen in terms of both cost and scalability.
Current CCUS technology could see a 90% capture rate if implemented, however, the UK is aiming for a 95% capture rate if CCUS technology is applied in the short term before increasing to a 99% capture rate by 2050.
However, hydrogen produced via hydrocarbons with CCUS technology added may not be suitable for fuel cell usage due to a lower purity of hydrogen being produced compared to renewable hydrogen production, and as a result, the report states that “there is uncertainty about the extent to which blue [low carbon] hydrogen can play a role in the net zero economy in the mid-to-long term.”
As a consequence, the report suggests that there is “an opportunity for the UK to become a leader in green [renewable] hydrogen production and development” and that “the government should set out how it intends to support the development in the UK of green hydrogen projects at scale during this decade” so that it can become “cost effective” with low-carbon hydrogen.
DOMESTIC HEATING
According to the report, gas boilers heat 85% of UK homes and UK domestic heating accounts for 15% of the UK’s carbon footprint.
The report said that there are “conflicting views” in the role of hydrogen in domestic heating, with arguments for the prioritisation of heat pumps in regards to domestic heating rather than hydrogen due to efficiencies and electrification.
However, heat pumps cannot be installed across the board and also have an installation cost associated with them.
Nonetheless, the report recommends that large-scale trials of hydrogen for heating should be undertaken.
The reports also says that the enabling of hydrogen blending into the gas network would help meet the net zero target.
The UK government has previously stated that the current gas grid would be able to take a 20% hydrogen blend before major infrastructure changes are required.
ANALYSIS: UK paints mixed picture for hydrogen in net zero strategy, London, December 22, 2022
