A future for hydrogen

Martyn Bridges outlines possible routes to a future with hydrogen heating.

The UK government has committed to a net zero emissions future

by 2050. As many of you know, the transition to this target is challenging to say the least. With around 15% of the country’s CO2 emissions coming from heating and hot water, the heating industry has a huge part to play. The UK has a remarkable gas infrastructure with around 136,000 miles of pipework connecting over 23 million homes and businesses to the grid. One of the many ways the government plans to move us to net zero is to substitute the current methane gas supply with hydrogen, which at the point of use will not produce any carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide emissions. To transition to 100% hydrogen will take some years in planning and preparation and ultimately will require exchanging the current installed base of gas appliances to hydrogen-ready appliances. The government may decide that only hydrogen-ready appliances can come onto the market from the mid to late 2020s. These are appliances that can initially be connected to the natural gas supply and operated as normal until hydrogen becomes available in the area. At that point, a small conversion requiring two or three inexpensive components taking an hour of an engineer’s time will allow the boiler to run on 100% hydrogen. From a government perspective, this would be a sensible 'no regrets' policy change as there are around 1.7m boilers installed annually. In fact, this would also be highly effective, as a hydrogen-ready system would replace a gas-fired boiler that has come to the end of its life. It is now well known that Worcester Bosch has been actively involved in developing hydrogen-ready boilers. We are excited to say that ours is undergoing field trials at a number of UK locations to determine the feasibility of introducing them to market. In the short term though, it is possible A 20% blend of the government may introduce small blends of hydrogen and hydrogen would biomethane to the grid to start this transition decrease carbon to 100% hydrogen. dioxide emissions Initial trials have taken place (with more to follow) that by 8%. have demonstrated that it is technically possible to blend up to 20% hydrogen and 80% methane and run most existing gas appliances in this way. A 20% blend of hydrogen would decrease carbon dioxide emissions by eight per cent. This would also assist in meeting some of the carbon budgets the government has to meet before 100% hydrogen gas is feasibly available on a wide scale.

All Worcester Greenstar condensing boilers built since their introduction in 2002 and the Bosch commercial boilers of similar age, including the Worcester GB162 series, are suitable to carry a 20% blend of hydrogen should it be introduced into the gas grid.

We are confident that hydrogen is a viable, zero carbon alternative to natural gas in heating and will fit well in the future technology mix, alongside heat pumps, bio-oil and renewables. This is even more realistic if hydrogen-ready boilers are to be mandated. This would speed the transition to carbon-free heating in domestic and commercial buildings and would be less disruptive to homeowners, ultimately helping the UK to reach net zero 2050. ■