Consortium to investigate reducing development costs of green hydrogen
A consortium led by Northern Gas Networks (NGN) has successfully secured Ofgem funding of almost £500,000 for its Hydrogen Cost Reduction Programme (HyCoRe), to explore the role of hydrogen in reducing the upfront investment required to move to net zero.
The project will investigate the concept of producing green hydrogen from offshore-wind and distributing it through the onshore gas network, potentially offering a more economic and deliverable solution than offshore wind farms producing electricity directly.
NGN, the gas distributor for the north of England, is joined in the project by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, Kinewell Energy, Arup, University of Newcastle, Unasys, and National Gas Transmission. Advisors to the programme include Northern Powergrid, Lhyfe, Carbon Trust Advisory.
David Lynch, Future Energy Strategy Manager at NGN said, “We are delighted to receive this funding which builds on work by the consortium during the initial discovery phase. HyCoRe will provide evidence to demonstrate how hydrogen can be integrated into existing energy networks to reduce capital expenditure required to support net-zero transition by 2050.”
Paul McKeever, Head of Electrical Research at ORE Catapult, the government backed innovation centre for offshore renewable energy said, “The HyCoRe project series is a significant step forward in better understanding gas and electrical grid alignment and how best to utilise offshore wind in future energy solutions. The ORE Catapult team are delighted to be working with such a strong consortium and look forward to applying and developing our expertise in several areas, including technology development and validation; infrastructure solution design incorporating offshore wind and hydrogen technologies; and the often-challenging issue of market regulation.”
HyCoRe partners and advisors will collaborate over the next six months on three key research areas:
National modelling: identifying high-potential areas based on offshore/onshore constraints and opportunities.
Modelling of a selected regional specific solution: understanding infrastructure solutions that will provide connectivity between offshore wind production areas and energy consumers/gas network.
Technical challenge assessment: identifying technical challenges that may impede deployment and design/optimisation of test/validation solutions to de-risk technology pathways.
Clare Lavelle, Director at Arup said, “Hydrogen deployment at scale is critical to meeting the UK’s net zero targets and achieving a just transition. Hydrogen complements increasing electrification of the energy system and will enable the growth of our indigenous offshore wind market.”
The HyCoRe project is one of thirty-six projects to have successfully secured a total of £16.1M of Ofgem funding from its Strategic Innovation Fund, which aims to drive the innovation needed to transform gas and electricity networks for a low-carbon future.