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BUILDING THE HYDROGEN FUTURE OF WALES AND BEYOND
RenewableUK – the UK’s largest renewable energy trade association – speaks to Guto Owen about the current and future development of hydrogen in Wales and how skills can be transferred from traditional energy industries to support growth.
makes it an attractive area for government investment. In Wales, the situation appears ripe for the picking, as Guto Owen, co-ordinator of HyCymru, the Wales Hydrogen Trade Association, and Director of Ynni Glân, a fuel cells and hydrogen consultancy – comments:
What’s the project?
“Wales is essentially a microcosm for the global hydrogen industry. We have domestic energy sources, especially large-scale offshore wind from our shared resource with Ireland, and markets for everything from industry to transport to heating and power, with associated infrastructure to connect it all. As such, it is possible to deploy and develop technologies and strategies in Wales that can be scaled up for other countries and markets. We’ve made progress and there is much to learn from and co-operate with other countries to design our approach in the future. We can also connect to the worldwide hydrogen economy through Milford Haven, the UK’s largest energy port.”
Green hydrogen produced from renewables is often heralded as the renewable fuel of the future. Why? Because it is the ultimate solution to green energy in its production and application across multiple sectors, and can help solve the integration challenge of renewables into the energy mix. Current plans have established a target of 5GW of low carbon hydrogen capacity by 2030, which is the equivalent to replacing the gas consumed by 3 million households in the UK each year, and will be used to support sectors ranging from heavy transport to industry, in addition to supporting transport and heavy industry. As is true throughout the renewable energy sector, the potential for thousands of new jobs and various export opportunities in green hydrogen production
www.ogv.energy I March 2022
Milford Haven: Energy Kingdom (MH:EK) is an innovative project designed to explore the realistic possibilities for a decarbonised, smart local energy system. With collaboration between electrolyser, solar, onshore wind,
offshore wind and biomass energy solutions, it is looking to develop efficiencies with local community and industry. A global trailblaser, the project incorporates hydrogen-ready technologies in housing and commercial buildings, alongside intelligent hybrid heating systems, fuel cell cars and a flexible trading platform that lowers costs. Most recently, RWE announced a project to build further on the potential for hydrogen linking to the floating offshore wind sites in the Celtic Sea. The organisation has been investigating opportunities for the production and supply of green hydrogen at the Pembroke Power Station with the installation of a 100MW electrolyser. This would push boundaries within the sector on several fronts, given the size of the technology and the potential to supercharge green hydrogen production for a local network. As the survey is forecast to run until March 2022, the soon expected results could be the start of some interesting conversations in the area. Also, in progress elsewhere in Wales is a feasibility study for a hydrogen hub at Holyhead, including a hydrogen production plant and fuelling/distribution centre led by community enterprise Menter Môn. Findings so far suggest potential to cater for local heavy transport businesses at a supply rate of over 400kg/day by 2022/23, with the opportunity to expand over time. A 1-2MW pilot project has been designed at Parc Cybi to test the realities of a hydrogen hub, which will explore scale-up opportunities and connection with other emerging projects in Wales, Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Guto Owen
